Roanoke College Magazine, Issue 1, 2022

ROANOKE COLLEGE MAGAZINE ISSUE ONE 2022

Table of Contents

5 DEPARTMENTS 2

EDITOR’S NOTE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

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SNAPSHOTS

4

WE HEARD FROM YOU

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COLLEGE NEWS • Shushok appointed 12th president of Roanoke College • College names new dean • Ackley receives Outstanding Faculty Award • Roanoke College Medalists

10 PRESIDENT’S PEN 28 GIVING • Gift establishes Women’s Athletic Endowment • Giving back, to ensure opportunity 30 ATHLETICS • Wrestling makes impressive debut • Hall of Fame inductees • Season highlights 34 ALUMNI NEWS • Class Notes, Weddings, Families • In Memoriam • Alumni Association news 50 MAROON MUSINGS A “tour” of the president’s office 52 ROANOTES Bow tie’d

12 FEATURES

12 Privilege of a Lifetime Michael C. Maxey has made an indelible impression on people from all corners of the Maroons community — as a colleague, as an administrator, as president, and as a friend.

BY ALEX M cCART HY

20 Full Circle The one writer who has chronicled President Maxey’s journey as Roanoke College’s 11th president, sits down for one more interview, this time not in person, or by phone, but on Zoom.

BY DAV I D T READW ELL

24 Looking Back The years of a college presidency, in photos.

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AT LEFT: Alumni Weekend 2022 fireworks, celebrating a multitude of occasions and milestones, including Roanoke College’s 180th anniversary. Photo by Griffin Pivarunas ’16.

ON THE COVER: Digital illustration of Roanoke College President Michael C. Maxey, by David Harris, creative director of Mikula-Harris who has designed Roanoke College magazine for 28 years.

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FROM THE EDITOR

Roanoke College Magazine

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n 2018, I had the pleasure of sharing the story of Maxine Fitzgerald ’69 in the pages of Roanoke College

magazine. Her story had been brought to my attention by a member of the Board of Trustees, Ken Belton ’81, who relayed that Fitzgerald was the first Black American enrolled as a full-time student at the College, and that 2019 would mark the 50th anniversary of her graduation.

Fitzgerald’s story of quiet, almost hidden, accomplishment opened my eyes a bit wider to the vast diversity of

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stories at and about Roanoke College.

In my 11 1⁄2 years as editor of Roanoke College magazine, I have sought to present not a perfect, varnished accounting

Editor Leslie Taylor Contributing Editors Teresa Gereaux ’87 Alex McCarthy Contributors Kaylen Ayres ’25 Laura Connelly ’09 James France Brian Hoffman ’74 Alex McCarthy Photography Richard Boyd Carissa Szuch Divant Ryan Hunt ’18 Griffin Pivarunas ’16 Michele Stapleton Design & Production Mikula-Harris

of life at this institution and the many people who comprise

Fitzgerald’s story of quiet, almost hidden, accomplishment opened my eyes a bit wider to the vast diversity of stories at and about Roanoke College.

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its community, but to share an authentic accounting of life that — for all its goodness and greatness — is complicated, yet so very compelling.

This issue of the magazine, devoted to a man who has

Vice President, Melanie Tolan Marketing and Communications

championed diversity during his tenure as 11th president of Roanoke College, is my last. This summer, a new editor will assume the College Editor’s post. Without doubt, the new editor’s job will be a fulfilling one, as there are so many more stories to tell.

I encourage the College community to explore these stories, cultivate them, embrace them — and grant yourselves permission to share them.

Thank you for the opportunity to share a small portion of them.

— Leslie Taylor

2021 – 2022 | board of trustees Mr. Malon W. Courts ’92, chair Ms. Kathryn Snell Harkness ’73, vice chair Mr. James S. Frantz, Jr., secretary Mr. David B. Mowen, treasurer Mr. Michael C. Maxey, president of the College Mr. Kenneth J. Belton, Sr. ’81 Mr. Kirk Howard Betts Dr. Paris D. Butler, MPH ’00 Ms. Pamela L. Cabalka ’76 Dr. M. Paul Capp ’52 Ms. Joanne Leonhardt Cassullo ’78 Mr. W. Morgan Churchman ’65

Printing Bison Printing

Ms. Danae Psilopoulos Foley ’92 Mr. Robert P. Fralin Mr. David L. Guy ’75 Mr. Michael P. Haley ’73 Ms. Judith B. Hall ’69 Mr. Richard S. Hathaway ’73 Ms. Peggy Fintel Horn ’78 The Reverend Robert F. Humphrey Mr. John E. Lang ’73 Mr. Patrick R. Leardo Ms. Nancy B. Mulheren ’72 Mr. Roger A. Petersen ’81 Mr. J. Tyler Pugh ’70

Ms. Margaret Lynn Jacobs Reichenbach The Reverend Dr. Theodore F. Schneider ’56 Mr. C. Micah Spruill ’11 Mr. Daniel E. Strelka ’89 Mr. Andrew K. Teeter ’71 Dr. Patrice M. Weiss Dr. Garnett B. Whitehurst Ms. Helen Twohy Whittemore ’80

Roanoke College does not discriminate against students, employees or applicants on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, national or ethnic origin, disability or veteran status.

Roanoke College Magazine is published twice a year by the Office of Marketing and Communications for alumni, students, parents, staff and friends of Roanoke College. Editorial rights are reserved.

Questions, comments and corrections may be sent to: Magazine Editor Roanoke College Office of Marketing and Communications 221 College Lane Salem, VA 24153-3794 rcmagazine@roanoke.edu

221 College Lane | Salem, VA 24153-3794 | www.roanoke.edu

College Switchboard ....................................(540) 375-2500 Admissions Local .........................................(540) 375-2270 Admissions Toll-free......................................(800) 388-2276

Dr. Julie and Mr. Michael Byerly (Ex-officio, Co-Chairs of the Parent Leadership Council)

Mr. Joseph H. Carpenter, IV ’99 (Ex-officio, Chair of the Alumni Executive Council)

Mr. James Chisom ’84 (Ex-officio, Chair of the President’s Advisory Board)

Alumni/Parent Relations................................(540) 375-2238 Alumni E-mail .......................................alumni@roanoke.edu Church Relations ..........................................(540) 375-2300 Colket Center ...............................................(540) 378-5125 Intercollegiate Athletics .................................(540) 375-2338 Olin Box Office..............................................(540) 375-2333

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© 2022 Roanoke College. All rights reserved.

Roanoke College and associated logos are trademarks of Roanoke College.

snapshots A portrait of Dr. Sandee McGlaun, associate professor of English who died in September 2021, is unveiled during the Feb. 19 dedication of the College’s Writing Center in her memory. (top left, continuing clockwise). • A flag-draped Dr. Tatyana Munsey, adjunct senior lecturer in Russian, at the March 1 teach-in about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. • Students and faculty at work at the compost trailer, on campus this spring semester at the Roanoke College Community Garden. • A rainy, but joyous Commencement 2022. • A half-court shot attempt at Maroon Madness on Feb. 10. • “Dancing With The Stars”: the 14th Annual President’s Ball.

one of them Dean of Students; Jenny Rosti, director, Major Scholarships and Fellowships; and George Kegley ’49, longtime journalist, community volunteer and editor of the Virginia Lutheran newsletter. Alumni shared their remembrances in letters, emails and social media posts.

KUDOS My husband and I recently endowed a student scholarship at Roanoke College in honor of my mother (Jenny H. Bradley, ’84).

I am also a marketing and communications consultant who has worked in higher education for more than 25 years. I want to compliment you on the quality of the magazine, particularly the design of Issue Two. The photography in this issue is stellar, and the articles are well-written and engaging.

I know firsthand how much work it takes to produce a high-quality alumni magazine, and I want to congratulate you and your team on a job well done.

Donald Sutton I was saddened to learn of the passing of Donald Sutton. Without him I might not have ever graduated from Roanoke. To a large extent, I owe the success of my undergraduate and graduate career to Donald Sutton.

About two weeks into my freshman year in 1971, an RA tracked me down with instructions to bring me to Dean Sutton’s office. Dean Sutton informed me that my father had died unexpectedly and that the Dean’s office had made a reservation for me on the next flight from Roanoke to New York. As I turned to leave, he asked me to sit and talk with him for a moment.

Dean Sutton made clear that Roanoke would arrange for scholarships, grants in aid, student loans and work study to enable me to make it through to graduation. I was not an honor student in high school.

Nevertheless, Roanoke came through with scholarships, grants, student defense loans and work study that allowed me to graduate without with my mom or me taking on huge amounts of debt. I graduated in 1975 with a B.A. in philosophy.

I attended law school in 1978. My philosophy background put me miles ahead of most other students in my class — even philosophy majors from other schools! At the end of my first year, I was in the top 10% of my class, which qualified me for the highest academic honor — an invitation to join the Law Review. There are two things that made this possible: The financial assistance which Roanoke provided and the intellectual training I received at Roanoke as a philosophy major that played a huge role in my later success in law school and beyond.

This was my first experience with the Roanoke “family.” Thank you, Dean Sutton.

You will be missed by many.

Ellen Bradley Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Eric W. Janson ’75, Esq. Lebanon, New Hampshire

REMEMBRANCES

Jenny Rosti It’s hard to put into words the way Professor Rosti was able to make others feel. I always looked forward to her class because she had such a magnetic personality, and made whatever the subject was interesting. She

WE HEARD FROM YOU LET T ERS, TWEETS AND POST S

Editor’s note: The 2021-22 year brought the loss of treasured members of the Roanoke College community. They include Donald Sutton, who from 1956 to 1983 held several positions at Roanoke College,

was also so encouraging and positive, and shared the light she had about her with you.

Lauren O’Connor ’10

George Kegley George Kegley was a volunteer at Highland Park Elementary for many years. He understood how service to others is a call that needs to be fulfilled. He spent many hours reading with children, packing snacks for those feeling hunger, and providing a superior role model to those around him. If only we all were as kind, as generous and as compassionate…Highland is honored to have called him friend.

Crystal Camina Pruett ’93

CORRECTION The caption that accompanied a photo in the Alumni Association News pages of Issue 2, 2021 should have read as follows: This past summer, Roanoke College Board of Trustees member Judy Hall ’69 hosted a gathering of Roanoke College friends and Chi Omega sisters at her home in Ocean City, New Jersey. Attending the weeklong getaway were, from left to right: Mary Swanson Wagner ’72, Sandy (Nelson) Bates ’69, Judy (Heckendorn) Hall ’69, and Debbie (Diehl) Tanis ’70.

BEHIND THE SHOOT

Roanoke, Virginia-based commercial photographer Richard Boyd has captured Roanoke College President Michael C. Maxey in photos on several auspicious occasions over the years — once in 2007, the year of the president’s inauguration, and again in 2017, as the president reached the 10-year mark of his presidency. Boyd photographed President Maxey a third time, for this very special issue of Roanoke College magazine, on March 21, 2022. The setting: The President’s Dining Room in the Colket Center.

We want to hear from you! Roanoke magazine welcomes letters and emails about what you read in this publication. Mail letters to: Magazine Editor, Department of Public Relations, Roanoke College, 221 College Lane, Salem, VA 24153, or send an email to: rcmagazine@roanoke.edu. Letters should be no longer than 250 words and may be edited for content.

CONNECT WITH US:

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WEB roanoke.edu/magazine

TWITTER @RoanokeCollege

FACEBOOK facebook.com/roanoke

INSTAGRAM #roanokecollege

collegenews Dr. Frank Shushok Jr. at a meet and greet with members of the Roanoke College community on March 23.

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I am honored to join the faculty and staff in pursuit of such a worthy calling.

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— Frank Shushok Jr., Ph.D.

Shushok appointed 12th president of Roanoke College THE ROANOKE COLLEGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES on March 21 appointed Frank Shushok Jr., Ph.D., the 12th president of Roanoke College. Shushok will succeed retiring President Michael C. Maxey.

Dr. Shushok has 30 years of work experience in higher education, the past 13 at Virginia Tech in posts that include associate vice president, senior associate vice president and, most recently, vice president for student affairs. Shushok also is a tenured associate professor of Agricultural Leadership & Community Education at Virginia Tech.

“Throughout the presidential search, Dr. Shushok inspired us with his spirit, energy and centered dedication to student learning,” said Malon Courts ’92, chairman of the Roanoke College Board of Trustees. “Dr. Shushok’s background aligns with the most important needs of the College, and he understands the value of who we are, our culture, people and traditions, including the importance of our rich Lutheran heritage.

He will propel us forward, embracing innovation while respecting history and tradition to make Roanoke College an even greater institution.”

Shushok said he was drawn to Roanoke College for the cherished convictions held by the institution. “Roanoke College is a beautiful community deeply committed to students and their holistic learning,” he said. “Everywhere at Roanoke College, there are structures and individuals committed to a

kind of deep learning that emboldens the human spirit, strengthens public discourse, and becomes a true north for what matters most.”

As Virginia Tech’s vice president for student affairs, Shushok provided overall leadership for one of the nation’s largest student affairs divisions. Shushok has led the maintenance and renovation of more than 30 percent of Virginia Tech’s physical campus, served as a member of the president’s cabinet, and served on many other boards and organizations at the university.

He is known for his passion for integrating academic and student life and championing the role of faculty in the holistic development of students.

Shushok holds a B.S. in history from Baylor University, an M.A. in higher education and student affairs administration from The Ohio State University, and a Ph.D. in higher education policy, planning and analysis from the University of Maryland, College Park.

The Roanoke College Board of Trustees’ unanimous vote confirming Shushok followed a five-month nationwide search conducted by a search committee of trustees, faculty, staff and students. Academic Search, a Washington, D.C.-based executive search firm, partnered with the College to conduct the search. The search produced a pool of more than 100 applicants of diverse backgrounds.

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L E A DE RS H IP

Wolfe named Dean of College DR. KATHY J. WOLFE, a champion of integrative and experiential learning, has been named vice president of academic affairs and dean of Roanoke College.

Wolfe has 28 years of teaching experience and 11 years in administrative leadership roles, most recently as dean of engaged education at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. She has a broad understanding of higher education, having worked in private and public liberal arts institutions, community colleges and the Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Wolfe succeeds Dr. Richard Smith, who retired in the summer of 2021 after 12 years in the position.

Roanoke College President-elect Dr. Frank Shushok Jr. — appointed to succeed retiring President Michael C. Maxey this year — said Wolfe’s vision aligns perfectly with Roanoke College’s approach.

“I was struck by Dr. Wolfe’s authentic connection to Roanoke College’s

mission, especially our commitment that every student be invited to explore purpose en route to finding meaningful work,” Shushok said.

“Dr. Wolfe is student-centered, collaborative, excited about curricular innovation, and eager to partner with our talented faculty to dream forward the next iteration of Roanoke College’s offering to the world.”

Wolfe, who was a first-generation college student, earned a B.A. in English from Nebraska Wesleyan University and a Ph.D. in English from Texas Christian University. She is a member of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, the American Conference of Academic Deans, the National Academic Advising Association, and the National Council of Teachers of English/College Composition and Communication.

“What drew me to Roanoke College was the College’s willingness to embrace thoughtful change while maintaining a firm commitment to high-quality, affordable and equitable liberal arts education,” Wolfe said. “I’m excited about the partnership with President-elect Frank Shushok, and eager to get to know the community and collaborate with the faculty, staff, administrators, students, alumni, the board and others to develop creative new programs. We will connect with the local community and articulate the value of the liberal arts.”

ACCOLA D E

DR. LIZ ACKLEY, the Brian H. Thornhill Associate Professor of Health & Human Performance at Roanoke College, was honored March 1 at the Virginia General Assembly as one of 12 recipients of the 2022 Outstanding Faculty Awards.

The award, presented by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) and Dominion Energy, recognizes outstanding faculty for their work in four areas: teaching, disknowledge integration “Dr. Ackley has a knack for covery, and service.

“If we were to mint a proidentifying our strengths as fessor who was designed to students and has a way to engage students in community-altering research, to challenge and encourage inspire students through her instructional talent, to provide us at the same time.” leadership to college and — Kavya Iyer ’22, student of Dr. Liz Ackley community in ample doses, the professor would be Dr. Ackley,” Michael C. Maxey, president of Roanoke College, said in the nomination of Ackley for the award.

Ackley, who joined the Roanoke College faculty in 2010, holds a B.S. in exercise science from the State University of New York at Cortland College, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in health and human performance from Middle Tennessee State University.

Ackley’s nomination referenced the novel health surveillance methodology she created to identify geographic inequities in the social, environmental and economic factors contributing to health disparities in children. Her surveillance system, the Roanoke Valley Community Healthy Living Index, has since 6 ROANOKE COLLEGE MAGAZINE | ISSUE ONE 2022

CLEM BRITT PHOTOGRAPHY

Ackley recognized with Outstanding Faculty Award

Dr. Liz Ackley, center, with Virginia Secretary of Education Aimee Rogstad Guidera, at left, and Peter Blake, director of State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, right.

grown to become one of the largest, most successful translational research models of its kind.

Ackley is one of only two professors at private Virginia colleges honored with the 2022 award, and she is the sixth Roanoke College professor to receive this recognition. Other Roanoke College professors who have received the Outstanding Faculty Award from SCHEV are: Dr. Gregory Weiss, professor of sociology (2004); Dr. Roland Minton, professor of mathematics (2005); Dr. Melanie Almeder, John P. Fishwick Professor of English (2011); Dr. Paul Hanstedt, professor of English (2013); and Dr. Valerie Banschbach, professor of environmental studies (2019).

FACULTY BOOKS

KEY NOT E S

Speakers educate, enlighten, encourage • DR. HENRY LOUIS GATES JR. — April 19 “The Rise and Fall of Reconstruction” Gates is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University.

• BURT W. FOLSOM JR. — March 22 “How Entrepreneurs, Not Government, Built America” Dr. Folsom, a historian, taught history at several institutions including Hillsdale College, where he serves as a distinguished fellow. Presented by the Center for Economic Freedom and sponsored by the David L. Guy ’75 Lecture Series and Young America’s Foundation.

• ALYSHA BUTLER — February 21 “No More Back Seats – Shifting Black History to the Center of America’s School Curriculum” Butler is a national award-winning teacher of social studies in Washington, D.C. Public Schools, scholar and author in the field of education.

Presented by the Education Department of Roanoke College.

• MICHAEL FRIEDLANDER — April 5 “Going from local to global in biomedical and health impact: Partnership between a university, a health system and a community” Dr. Friedlander is the founding executive director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion (VTC), the vice president for health sciences and technology at Virginia Tech, and the senior Dean for Research at the VTC School of Medicine.

RCMediaBytes Jeopardy! jinx and out-of-this world ketchup C&EN – American Chemical Society, Jan. 2, 2022

“It was one of my favorite things that have happened to me in my life.”

— Dr. Gary Hollis, professor of chemistry, on competing in the first-ever Jeopardy! Professors Tournament. Hollis won in the first round, which aired Dec. 6, 2021, but was eliminated in the second round, broadcast on Dec. 15.

Virginians narrowly approve of Youngkin and his handling of pandemic, poll finds The Washington Post, March 2, 2022

“It is not a surprise at all that many issues and opinions across the Commonwealth continue to be affected by partisanship and that mask wearing, vaccination and other topics divide along party lines.”

“Living Queer History: Remembrance and Belonging in a Southern City”

by Dr. G. Samantha Rosenthal, associate professor of history Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Overview: “Living Queer History tells the story of an LGBTQ community in Roanoke, Virginia, a small city on the edge of Appalachia.

Interweaving historical analysis, theory, and memoir, Gregory Samantha Rosenthal tells the story of their own journey — coming out and transitioning as a transgender woman — in the midst of working on a community-based history project that documented a multigenerational southern LGBTQ community. Based on over 40 interviews with LGBTQ elders, Living Queer History explores how queer people today think about the past and how history lives on in the present.”

Review: “A brilliantly blended book that, much like queerness itself, transcends genre and blurs boundaries. Using memoir to look outward and history to look inward, Rosenthal makes theory concrete, finds the past in the present, and brings Roanoke’s overlooked queer demimonde to beautiful life.” — Samantha Allen, author of “Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States”

ROANOKE COLLEGE IN THE NEWS

— Dr. David G. Taylor, associate dean for academic affairs and general education, and director of the Roanoke College Institute for Policy and Opinion Research, which conducted the poll, released March 1, 2022

Roanoke College students put grant writing skills into action serving local nonprofits Augusta Free Press, March 21, 2022

“The goal of this collaboration is to provide a meaningful, applied learning experience for students while also supporting the crucial work that our local community organizations do to support the health and well-being of people in the Roanoke Valley.”

— Dr. Kristen Rapp, assistant professor of sociology at Roanoke College, referring to students in her Public Health capstone class learning to write grants by collaborating with and serving six local nonprofit organizations.

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Three alumni honored with Roanoke College Medal

Frankie Allen, center, with (left to right) Maroons basketball teammate Hal Johnston ’72 and his wife Anne Johnston; Allen and his wife, Cynthia Allen, and Ken Belton ’81, member of the Roanoke College Board of Trustees.

THREE ACCOMPLISHED ALUMNI received the Roanoke College Medal during the 2022 Alumni Weekend in April.

The Roanoke College Medal is the College’s highest honor, recognizing alumni who demonstrate characteristics of responsible leadership, intellectual integrity and good citizenship through their professional accomplishments, and service to their community and alma mater.

Franklin “Frankie” Allen ’71 in 1967 became the first Black American student-athlete to attend Roanoke College. Considered one of the most prolific college basketball players in Virginia inter-

Medalist Sally Southard ’77.

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collegiate basketball history, Allen achieved many “firsts” as a member of the Maroons men’s basketball team, including first individual named to the AP Virginia All-State team all four years, and first basketball player in Roanoke College history to have his jersey retired.

After graduating from Roanoke, Allen coached at Albemarle High School, winning, in three years, two district championships and achieving Central Virginia Coach of the Year honors. He went on to coach at Virginia Tech as assistant men’s basketball coach and later as head coach. A stint as head coach at Tennessee State University followed, and in 2000, he joined Howard University as head men’s basketball coach. Currently, he is head basketball coach at University of Maryland Eastern-Shore.

Allen is a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, and the Black Coaches Association. In 1976, he was inducted into the Roanoke College Athletic Hall of Fame.

Sarah “Sally” Southard ’77 had a 38-year career as a pediatric nurse with Carilion Clinic before retiring in December 2018. She worked as a pediatric nurse practitioner at Carilion Children’s Pulmonary and Allergy Clinic for 24 years. While there, she precepted many pediatric nurse practitioner students from Radford University, the University of Virginia, Old Dominion University, and the University of South Alabama.

Southard served as chair of the Virginia Asthma Coalition Asthma Action Plan committee,

endorsed by the Virginia Department of Health and the Virginia Department of Education. This plan has been endorsed by the Virginia Department of Health and the Virginia Department of Education, and implemented in school divisions and medical practices across the Commonwealth.

In 2019, Southard received the Living and Giving Award for her many years of service to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. In 2012, she received the Charles Brown Award from Roanoke College, given to a Salem citizen to acknowledge their contributions to the city.

Bob Rotanz ’78, a veritable Salem icon, is a former Roanoke College lacrosse player and owner of Mac and Bob’s restaurant in downtown Salem.

A native of Long Island, New York, Rotanz came to Salem by way of Roanoke College, where he excelled on the lacrosse field. Rotanz scored the winning goal to help the men’s lacrosse team win the 1978 national championship and was named the national Lacrosse Player of the Year. In 1988, he was inducted into the Roanoke College Athletic Hall of Fame. His jersey number has been retired.

Rotanz, who has served on numerous community boards, is known for his generosity. He supplies food for scores of local events, schools and causes, and for more than 25 years, has organized a golf tournament to support families with children who have Down syndrome.

In 2009, Rotanz was named Citizen of the Year by the Salem Rotary Club. In 2013, he received the Charles Brown Award from Roanoke College, in recognition of his contributions to the city of Salem.

Medalist Bob Rotanz ’78.

Marking history ON MARCH 31, 2022, Roanoke College dedicated and unveiled a Virginia Department of Historic Resources historic roadside marker recognizing 1903 graduate Kim Kyusik, a leader in the Korean independence movement.

The marker, one of more than 2,500 that serve to educate the public about Virginia’s history, now stands on High Street on the Roanoke College campus.

Kim was born in Korea in 1881. He became an orphan as a young child and was adopted by Dr. Horace Underwood, a Presbyterian missionary. It was through Underwood that Kim came to Roanoke College. He served the Provisional Korean Government, based in China, and later advocated Korean independence, promoted the Korean cause in the United States, and helped organize the Korean National Revolutionary Party in China. After World War II, Kim opposed the permanent partition of Korea into North and South. He was kidnapped by the North Korean army during the Korean War and died in captivity.

“Kim Kyusik lived a century ago, but we still can find so many things that we can learn from him, and that can be related to us,” Dr. Stella Xu, Turbyfill Professor of History, said during the dedication ceremony. “That can inspire us to live a meaningful life with purpose.”

Kim was nominated for the historic marker by students from Cumberland Middle School, in Cumberland, Virginia, as part of a contest sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education and the Virginia Office of the Governor to nominate Asian American Pacific Islanders for historic markers. The students and their teacher attended the marker unveiling on March 31 as honored guests.

PRESIDENT’S PEN

The following is an excerpt from President Michael C. Maxey’s April 2022 — and final — report to the Roanoke College Board of Trustees.

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The highlights of my tenure are not personal highlights, nor should they be. Roanoke College is a place where we are best when we synchronize our energy and effort in our common mission.

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ooking back on the past 15 years brings back significant reminders of what has happened at Roanoke during my tenure.

A focus on highlights over these years includes my awareness that what we have achieved has been achieved together. What we have achieved together is built upon the legacy of our predecessors.

Nothing alone. Nothing without our forbearers. The highlights of my tenure are not personal highlights, nor should they be. Roanoke College is a place where we are best when we synchronize our energy and effort in our common mission.

I am very proud of the headway we made in the face of headwinds blowing fiercely against us in the past 15 years. We handled serial crises and still made dramatic progress together. It was because of the strength of Roanoke College and our efforts together that we can make this claim.

I acknowledge the many mentors in my Roanoke stint.

Presidents Norman Fintel and David Gring provided so much momentum for Roanoke, and I inherited their work. The Fintel and Gring couples offered gracious mentorship to Terri and me.

The College was blessed with 29 years of their leadership, and today we receive great benefit from their service.

Additionally, during the past 15 years, we observed the passing of Roanoke icons Clarence Caldwell, Don Sutton, and Homer Bast.

Each of these individuals created the internal momentum and culture we enjoy today. Each of them coached me in my work.

Sometimes they encouraged. Sometimes they corrected or adjusted, but always their affection for Roanoke was visible and foremost.

I witnessed and experienced the leadership of incredible Board Chairs. John Turbyfill, Bob Wortmann, Morris Cregger and Malon Courts provided the College and me with wisdom, direction, strategic thinking and ability to lead forward a complex community.

I could not have asked for better Board Chairs to guide my work and that of Roanoke. There are hundreds more individuals who offered counsel and guidance during my time as president.

The same gratitude is due to our Trustees who caused me to marvel at the depth of their selfless dedication to our College.

I cannot name them all here because of their numbers. Others could read off the names of our Board and I could respond with example after example of how they gave of themselves for the Roanoke cause. They inspired me.

Two of my favorite remembrances have to do with Fran Ramser and George Arthur, a legendary Roanoke coach and a technical director of Theater Roanoke, respectively. When I became president, Fran requested that I tell her if anyone was difficult with me.

“

Roanoke is a precious gem that serves students and society. I was entrusted with the keeping of the precious gem to develop new facets, making it more precious and beautiful.

She said in her raspy, lighthearted way that she would take care of them, pounding one fist into the palm of her other hand.

George also came to me in my first week as President and informed me that he had my back.

In what became the most challenging professional assignment of my life, knowing that I had good mentors and supportive community mentors made a world of difference. There are too many people to name here, but I am grateful for every word of encouragement, needed correction, and incredible insight provided by a caring and sage community. It is far easier to succeed when people want you to succeed. I was blessed by that advantage.

I was also advantaged by excellent Cabinet, volunteer, faculty and staff leadership. There are many other people too numerous to list who helped me do better for Roanoke.

Deeply committed faculty members, coaches and mentors abound at Roanoke, and I marveled at their efforts. What they do for our students is the Roanoke secret sauce. Whether it involves encouraging a student’s best effort, paying attention when a student struggles, or imagining possibilities for students, Roanoke lifts lives. I saw it virtually every day. We should never take those acts for granted.

I give great credit to the outstanding senior administrators and the directors working with them. I have worked with talented senior people who, along with their direct reports, made the College go forward. We all can thank them.

Naturally, students have been the center of Terri’s and my life here. They shared with us their exuberance and hope. We returned the favor with heartfelt interest in their lives and achievements.

It has been a great privilege to witness the Roanoke crucible where student lives are transformed. Confidence and direction are instilled in young people at Roanoke. Character and intellect are honed into positive forces in society through Roanoke graduates. In a thousand cases, I saw wonderful student effort and achievement that inspired.

Alumni have been the living example of the enormous contributions our College offers the world. In my work, I always felt there was a Maroon army of 20,000 mobilized to make the world a better place. They made me proud to be affiliated with Roanoke College.

Terri has been my mainstay and partner in all of my work. I could not have done it without her. She loved the people of the

”

Roanoke community. She advised and encouraged students throughout the past 15 years giving freely of herself to our College. Her mentorship of students in need was especially notable. Through her work and personal touch, Terri helped to define and create the caring culture of the College.

Clearly what we do at Roanoke, we do together.

Looking back on the past 15 years, I realize that we are simultaneously a different college and the same college. I am proud that we have adapted and changed while retaining what is worthy of retention. We are different in progressive ways, and those are built upon the distinct Roanoke way. The delicate balance of sustaining a rich culture while shaping it for modernity kept me committed for over 37 years.

Roanoke is a precious gem that serves students and society.

I was entrusted with the keeping of the precious gem to develop new facets, making it more precious and beautiful. I submit to you in my final report that, thanks to you and thousands, Roanoke is the most beautiful precious gem it has ever been.

We can feel confident that President-elect Frank Shushok Jr. will make it more beautiful and precious than ever.

Thank you for the great privilege of leading Roanoke College.

I treasured the quest almost as much as I have treasured my relationships with you. I am deeply grateful to every member of our College community for your trust and dedication. What we accomplished, we accomplished together. We can all feel justifiable pride in our association with our College nestled under Fort Lewis Mountain.

There is no place or purpose like this one.

Michael Creed Maxey

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PRIVILEGE OF A LIFETIME

BY ALEX McCARTHY

Michael C. Maxey, photographed earlier this year in the President’s Dining Room, Colket Center,

by Roanoke photographer Richard Boyd. Maxey has referred to his years as president of Roanoke College, as the “privilege of a lifetime.”

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TALK TO THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED WITH ROANOKE COLLEGE DURING MICHAEL C. MAXEY’S TENURE AS THE COLLEGE’S 11TH PRESIDENT, AND IT BECOMES CLEAR THAT HE HAS MADE AN INDELIBLE IMPRESSION ON PEOPLE FROM ALL CORNERS OF THE MAROONS COMMUNITY.

R

oanoke College President Michael C. Maxey looks closely at the trio of half-tied bow ties before him. Then he steps in.

“You wouldn’t believe how many times I had to do this to get it right,” Maxey says as he helps Matthew Smith ’24 tighten the tie.

Smith is one of the students in Maxey’s office for a bow tietying lesson the day before the President’s Ball in March. The President’s Ball is an annual formal celebration hosted by the president and First Lady Terri Maxey, and these three students are learning how to master Maxey’s signature neckwear.

As they slowly learn, Maxey talks to them about his collection of 262 bow ties. He even pulls out the bow tie he always keeps in his office in case he needs one on short notice. It hangs on his coat rack, and is striped with blue, orange, purple and green — enough of a variety where he can match it to just about anything.

Maxey makes sure they’re watching in the mirror as he helps them through the process. He wants them to be able to do this without his help eventually.

“I’ll do it once,” Maxey says. “Then I’m turning the keys to the car over to you.”

Maxey is handing over his title as Roanoke College president this year as well. He’s retiring at the end of July after 37 years at Roanoke College, the final 15 as president.

His legacy will include much more than the speeches he’s given or the plaques in his name or the bow ties he’s knotted. If you talk to those who have been involved with the College during Maxey’s time in Salem, it is clear that he’s made a lasting impression on people in all corners of the Maroons community and beyond.

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AT LEFT: As President Maxey looks on, Matthew Smith ’24 smiles at his bow-tying handiwork during bow tie lessons held March 18, the day before the 2022 President’s Ball. BELOW: Roanoke College’s ninth president, Dr. David Gring, second from the left, with wife Susan, far left, and President and Mrs. Maxey at the Society of 1842 Luncheon in 2017, during which the Grings received the Roanoke College Medal.

Dr. Gring places President Maxey among the most “gifted leaders I have ever encountered in my entire career.”

“THERE’S NOTHING THAT LAYS BARE A LEADER’S ABILITY MORE THAN CIRCUMSTANCES THAT ARISE BEYOND HIS OR HER CONTROL.” — Dr. David Gring, ninth president of Roanoke College

He’s perhaps best known for his one-on-one interactions with people, especially for remembering details about them. He makes a point to learn every freshman’s name by the end of their first year on campus. He recalls specific facts about students, faculty and staff members — where they’re from, where their spouse works, what projects they’re currently working on.

Maxey is always sure to mention that nothing he has accomplished as Roanoke’s 11th president has been done alone. He gives a great deal of credit to those who came before him. But as much as others may have helped him along the way, it’s undeniable that Maxey has played a key role in keeping the College on a strong path during his presidency, even through difficult times.

A GIFTED LEADER

When he was selected as Roanoke College’s ninth president in early 1989, Dr. David Gring immediately had a vacancy to fill. The vice president for admissions services position was newly open, and someone at the college recommended that Gring hire Mike Maxey for the job.

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Maxey, who arrived at Roanoke College in 1985, flew all the way up to Moorhead, Minnesota, where Gring was completing his time as dean and vice president of academic affairs at Concordia College, to interview for the job. The meeting turned into a twoway interview, as Gring remembers it. While Gring determined whether he wanted to promote Maxey, Maxey tried to figure out if Gring was someone he wanted to work for.

Not only did Maxey get the job, but the meeting was the beginning of a friendship that has lasted more than 30 years.

“Mike is clearly among the most gifted leaders that I have ever encountered in my entire career,” Gring says. “He really is able to come to any position that he has with uncompromising intelligence.”

Gring, who retired from the presidency in 2004, was one of the people who encouraged Maxey to go for the job in 2007. Gring watched as Maxey’s job almost immediately became more difficult with the Great Recession, which spanned from 2007 to 2009. Gring says he’s been amazed at how Maxey handled both the recession and the COVID-19 pandemic in the final years of his presidency.

Difficult circumstances can expose someone’s true leadership qualities, and Maxey shined when confronted with challenges, Gring believes.

“There’s nothing that lays bare a leader’s ability more than circumstances that arise beyond his or her control,” he says.

Very few people have worked as closely with Maxey during

such circumstances as Tom Rambo. Rambo, the current dean of students, was the director of Campus Safety from 2014-2020.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Rambo says Maxey was the “essence of calm” as he made tough decisions.

Maxey was always open, honest and willing to lead from the front rather than pass duties on to others, Rambo says. This was exemplified when Maxey held a town hall-style gathering on the Back Quad the day students learned they would be sent home as the pandemic began. Though he didn’t have all the answers, Maxey was honest with the students and didn’t hold anything back.

Instances like that have convinced Rambo that Maxey’s leadership has well-positioned the College for the future.

“Mike has created a community that is nurturing, that is caring,” Rambo says. “And if that’s the atmosphere on campus, I think that is probably one of the first things that helps the College deal with change.”

That change will come this summer, as Dr. Frank Shushok Jr. steps in as Roanoke’s 12th president. Maxey has expressed the utmost confidence in Shushok, and has set the table for success with the culture he has created on campus.

“MIKE HAS CREATED A COMMUNITY THAT IS NURTURING, THAT IS CARING.” — Tom Rambo, Dean of Students

LEADING BY HIS ACTIONS

Even in his final semester as president, Maxey continued to hold regular meetings with students, collecting feedback and offering them a chance to ask him anything they wanted.

During one March gathering at the Monterey House with about 20 students, Maxey stood alongside William Wiener ’22, who was introducing Maxey to the students. Wiener shared that when he was in high school, he liked to wear bow ties for fun.

A Roanoke College admissions counselor noticed this and mentioned to Weiner that the College’s president was known for his bow ties. Soon after he chose to attend Roanoke, Wiener received a handwritten letter in the mail from President Maxey — along with a Roanoke College bow tie.

“I treasure it very dearly,” Wiener says of the note and bow tie.

“We go way back,” Maxey adds.

These stories aren’t unusual, and you hear a wide variety of them when you speak to students. Chunhee Jung ’22, an international student from South Korea, had very little confidence in her English-speaking skills when she arrived at Roanoke. But every time she saw President Maxey, he would encourage her and build her confidence.

One time, Maxey talked to Jung at length about his trip to Korea and the customs he observed.

BELOW: President Maxey addresses students about COVID-19 implications during a town hall-style question-and-answer session on the Back Quad in March 2020.

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ABOVE: Efosa U-Edosomwan ’23, a member of the Maroons men’s basketball team, says President Maxey regularly drops by practice to watch the team. “His presence is always felt, U-Edosomwan says.

AT RIGHT: President Maxey with Morris Cregger ’64, former chair of the Roanoke College Board of Trustees, at a Board dinner in 2015.

“HE IS TRULY THE HEART OF ROANOKE COLLEGE.” — Grace Robinson ’22

“I was shocked,” Jung recalls. “He knew everything of Korea.

I was excited for that.”

Efosa U-Edosomwan ’23, a member of the Maroons men’s basketball team, says Maxey regularly drops by practice to watch the team.

“He’s not making any noise, but his presence is always felt,” U-Edosomwan says. “You always see him up there. It’s great to have him there.”

Stories like this could fill the pages of this magazine and beyond. Whitney Aldridge, who has served as executive assistant to the president for almost seven years, says that since Maxey announced his retirement in September 2021, many alumni have been sharing stories and memories about Maxey with her.

“It’s hard to wrap your head around how much time he’s put into this college and the impact he’s made on thousands of people,” Aldridge says. “You think you know somebody and then you keep learning all these stories about their past and people they’ve worked with, and people they knew. A lot of those stories are coming out now, and they’re great to hear.”

Morris Cregger ’64 can appreciate Maxey from multiple standpoints. As former chairman of the Roanoke College Board of Trustees and CEO of his own company, Cregger has been 16 ROANOKE COLLEGE MAGAZINE | ISSUE ONE 2022

impressed with Maxey’s ability to get things done over the years.

As a longtime friend and colleague of Maxey’s, Cregger admires Maxey’s humanity through all of it.

Maxey makes decisions with the big picture in mind, Cregger says. Instead of thinking about how a decision will affect the next day, he thinks about how it will impact the College in 10 years. But he doesn’t have so much of an eye on work that he overlooks the people he works with. When Cregger’s mother died, he didn’t tell the Maxeys because he didn’t want to burden them. But on the day of his mother’s funeral in South Carolina, the Maxeys showed up, and it deepened the respect Cregger had for them.

“That’s the type of people they are,” Cregger says. “They’re going to be there for you. And you’ll never have to worry about Mike turning his back on you. Those folks are going to support you in every manner.”

Faculty felt that support too, says Dr. Shannon Anderson, associate professor of sociology and public health. Anderson says Maxey’s close relationship with faculty has been an important reason why she believes Maxey has made the College stronger.

“Mike knows us all,” Anderson observes. “He knows our stories, our gifts and some of our Achilles’ “There’s no question that Mike made Roanoke College stronger and has elevated who we are and what we do,” says Shannon Anderson, associate professor of sociology and public health.

During a March 31, 2022 ceremony, Salem Mayor Renee Turk ’77 and President Maxey unveil the Virginia Department of Historic Resources historic roadside marker recognizing 1903 graduate Kim Kyusik, a leader in the Korean independence movement. Salem is a better place because of Maxey’s tenure as president, Turk says.

“HE HAS A GENTLE SPIRIT THAT KIND OF DRAWS PEOPLE TO HIM. HE LEADS BY HIS ACTIONS. HE’S A MOTIVATOR,

BY HIS ACTIONS.” — Renee Turk ’77, Mayor, City of Salem

heels. We love that he also knows our students and knows the staff, and through his prodigious humanity he shows us all the vast potential of our lives.”

“I’ve had the privilege of being here at a time when our president, in his very person, embodies the life and spirit of the college.

In my role as faculty moderator this academic year I’ve had the opportunity to learn more directly from and about Mike. When he asked me to serve on the search committee for his replacement, all I could think initially was that he cannot be replaced,” Anderson says, adding that she looks forward to seeing Dr. Shushok carry on

the momentum Maxey has created.

Renee Turk ’77, mayor of the City of Salem, praises Maxey’s ability to get to know people, and believes Salem is a better place because of Maxey’s time as president.

“He has a gentle spirit that kind of draws people to him,” Turk says. He “leads by his actions. He’s a motivator, by his actions. And in the many, many campaigns that he has led to add beautiful facilities to the campus, it enhances the City of Salem and it greatly enhances the lives of the students who go to Roanoke College.”

To Grace Robinson ’22, Maxey’s connection to students is best

On April 23, 2020, the Maxeys shared a virtual dinner with two dozen students who were working essential on-campus jobs or were unable to return home amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is the time of year we’re all going 100 miles an hour, and this year we’re going three miles an hour,” Maxey told the students. “It’s just strange and I miss it so much.”

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on display when he stops in the dining hall and eats with students. He asks students how they’re doing and what he can do to help them.

“He is truly the heart of Roanoke College,” Robinson declares.

THE THOUSAND LITTLE THINGS

Maxey, wearing a red and white bow tie, sits at the microphone in the WRKE radio studio. It’s an evening in early April, and he’s a guest on “Dear Anonymous,” a student radio show hosted by Andrew Austin ’22. Over the course of an hour, Austin peppers

Maxey with questions that range from the serious to the goofy.

One of his first questions goes back to the beginning. It’s a simple one: Why Roanoke? Why did the Maxeys relocate from New Hampshire in 1985 to Roanoke College?

Maxey describes a walk that he and Terri took during a New Hampshire snowstorm, a walk during which Terri said she was ready to live somewhere without the snow. He agreed, and they started looking for jobs back in Virginia and North Carolina.

Maxey had a variety of opportunities — one in business and one at his alma mater, Wake Forest University.

But the opportunity at Roanoke was more enticing, he says.

AN EVERLASTING CONNECTION TERRI MAXEY REFLECTS ON HER YEARS AT ROANOKE COLLEGE, INCLUDING THE PAST 15 AS FIRST LADY. “MIKE AND I WILL NEVER FORGET YOU,” SHE SAYS. B Y K AY L E N AY R E S ’ 2 5

Terri Maxey with graduating seniors at the 2019 Leave Your Mark event, held, as is tradition at the President’s House.

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“Something spoke to me about Roanoke,” Maxey remembers.

“I found it to be a really inviting place, and I thought I could help make something happen here that would be good. The chance to be part of something that’s on the move was really attractive to me.”

Roanoke College is still “on the move.” The College has made great strides in the time since Maxey arrived in 1985 and in the years since his inauguration as president in 2007. Though he’s quick to give credit to others, Maxey is a huge reason why the College continues its positive momentum.

And the College hasn’t stopped “speaking” to him after all these years. You can tell by the way he interacts with students, the way he

still has a bounce in his step as he walks between buildings on campus, the way he speaks with genuine awe about student accomplishments, about how much Roanoke College means to him.

It was clear on March 19, 2022, as he and Terri sat to the side of the dance floor at their final President’s Ball. Talking about that night a week later, the emotion was evident in his voice as he remembered reflecting on his years as president while watching students at the ball.

“I just wanted to breathe all that in because it was so powerful,” Maxey recalls. “It made me think of the thousand little things that had happened, in a good way.” RC

T

he beauty of the campus and the friendly people are some says. “It was hard for all of us, but I appreciate many things I of the first memories Terri Maxey recalls about Roanoke once took for granted. I hope that is the greatest outcome of the College. pandemic — appreciating the people and the life that we missed For the past 15 years, she has embraced her role as first lady with during the pandemic.” open arms and now reflects on her time at Roanoke College before While stepping aside as the College’s first lady saddens her, retiring in July with her husband, President Michael C. Maxey.

Maxey is looking forward to spending time with her family — her Terri Petree Maxey, a native of Richmond, Virginia, has worked husband, her sons’ families and her new grandson. Keeping in touch in admissions and financial aid at four different institutions of with her Maroons family is also included in the retirement plan. higher education. She met her then soon-to-be husband while While she doesn’t worry too much about her legacy, she does working at Averett University in Danville, Virginia. She was an hope the connections she has made with students are everlasting. admissions counselor; he was the assistant dean of students. The “For all of us, our best legacy is the people we care about. This is two married a year later, then moved to New Hampshire. true for me. I also hope that some of my enthusiasm for this great In the mid-1980s, the Maxeys relocated to the Roanoke Valley. college wore off on others,” Terri Maxey says. “Mike and I had the Michael Maxey had accepted a position as opportunity to meet many wonderful director of planned giving at Roanoke people who love Roanoke and what College, and Terri Maxey as financial aid happens here. Taking on this role with director at Ferrum College. The couple Mike has been a blast!” settled in a house on High Street, near the Reflecting on her 37 years at Roanoke Roanoke College campus, where they College, she expressed what she would raised their three sons: Michael, Stuart tell her former self. and Jack. The Maxey family doesn’t end “I did not fully appreciate the role — Terri Maxey there, though.

Mike and I were headed toward,” she “I always felt like as first lady I had the biggest family in the reveals. “I would advise my younger self to squeeze every moment world,” Terri Maxey says. and relationship to the maximum. I think I tried to do that, but I Students, alumni, faculty and staff alike were treated as memwould try even harder. The memories are going to be incredible. bers of the Maxey family. One tradition Terri Maxey cherishes is Write some of them down so you don’t forget them.” inviting students over for dinner at the President’s House.

Leaving the people she loves will be hard, Terri Maxey says, but “I have loved getting to know them,” she shares. “I am so she appreciates all the time she has had the opportunity to spend impressed with how smart and hardworking our students are. with the students.

Plus, they are fun!”

“We watched you grow and leave. At the President’s Ball, I just Maxey’s fondest memories of her time as first lady begin with looked around the room and thought about how much we gained the students — dining at the Commons, cheering on studentby forming friendships,” she says. “Mike and I will never forget you.” athletes during games, listening to student presentations, and visiting alumni. These are just a few of the many ways she has embraced the College community.

Kaylen Ayres ’25, of Summerfield, North Carolina, is a health and The last few years as first lady, however, brought an unpreceexercise science major/art minor at Roanoke who plans to pursue a dented challenge that changed how Maxey viewed her role. career in the medical field while continuing her interest in freelance The COVID-19 pandemic “isolated us so much. That was dreadphotography and art. Of Terri Maxey, Ayres says, “The few times I’ve ful, but I was inspired by how hard Roanoke students tried to keep had the opportunity to speak with her, the love and kindness she themselves and their peers and mentors healthy,” Terri Maxey has shown to students is something that really sticks with me.”

“I ALWAYS FELT LIKE AS FIRST LADY I HAD THE BIGGEST FAMILY IN THE WORLD.”

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Michael C. Maxey reflects on 15 years as president of Roanoke College with the one writer who has chronicled the entire journey.

As an educational consultant and writer, I have had the privilege of knowing Michael Maxey for over 20 years. Mike is among that rare breed of college president who combines a superb leadership ability and a passion for inspiring young people with an authentic personal touch.

He is, quite simply, a gem.

I have interviewed Mike twice for Roanoke College magazine — the first time in the months after his inauguration as Roanoke College’s 11th president in 2007, and the second, in 2017, as he approached the 10-year mark of his presidency. Our interview on Feb. 18, 2022, was our third, one that brought our periodic conversations fittingly full circle.

While we held our talk over Zoom, our connection and his insights remained strong. B Y D A V I D T R E A D W E L L 20 ROANOKE COLLEGE MAGAZINE | ISSUE ONE 2022

GRIFFIN PIVARUNAS ’16

FULL CIRCLE

MICHELE STAPLETON

Writer David Treadwell, of Brunswick, Maine, has interviewed Michael C. Maxey for this magazine twice during his tenure as the 11th president of Roanoke College. On Feb. 28, 2022, the two men sat down for a third interview — this time virtually, over Zoom — to talk about the past 15 years, and what lies ahead.

The time was right to retire Last summer, while vacationing in Maine, Mike decided that the time had come to retire. “The birth of our first grandson convinced me that after 15 years as president, it made sense for both personal and professional reasons.” Then, Mike added with his typical good humor, “They say that the 60s are ‘Go Go’, the 70s are ‘So So,’ and the 80s are ‘Oh No.’ I didn’t want people to look at me and wonder, ‘Why is he still around?’”

Leaving a lasting legacy of accomplishment Mike’s visionary leadership has led to an impressive array of accomplishments.

Some of them are visible to the naked eye, such as the flagship Cregger Center; the renovations to Lucas Hall and New Hall, both LEED certified facilities; the purchase of Afton Apartments; the purchase of the Bank Building where the History Department is based; and the addition of a new tennis complex on Elizabeth Campus.

Mike takes most pride, however, in the less visible changes, the ones that have

Mike takes most pride, however, in the less visible changes, the ones that have enhanced the educational experience for students and thrust Roanoke into the ranks of the nation’s finest liberal arts colleges.

enhanced the educational experience for students and thrust Roanoke into the ranks of the nation’s finest liberal arts colleges.

A clear focus on experiential learning Every Roanoke student has ample opportunities to put classroom theories to work in real-world settings on campus and around the world: internships, research fellowships in the summer or during the school year, study abroad and May Term, an opportunity now made more accessible through an increase in financial aid. In addition to embellishing resumes, these experiences give students a better sense of themselves and their place in the world.

“The faculty have been fantastic in creating these options, and the students have responded enthusiastically,” notes Mike, always ready to give credit to the people around him.

Preparing for a life and a livelihood Academic deans at some liberal arts colleges are reluctant to develop courses and majors deemed as overly career-oriented.

Conversely, some other colleges and universities feature highly specialized degrees. As Mike says, “Here at Roanoke we try to do both.” In addition to acquiring critical thinking and communications skills, students have the opportunity to

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pursue programs directly applicable to certain careers. During Mike’s presidency, the College has added the following majors and programs: sports management, creative writing, communication studies, actuarial science, public health studies, data science, Education majors and engineering science.

Increasing diversity When Mike first worked as vice president for Admissions Services at Roanoke in 1989 — his third role at Roanoke — minority students comprised only 1% of the student body. That figure stands at 18% today.

During his presidency, the College hired its first vice president for Community,

Diversity and Inclusion, and the Board of Trustees created the Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee. Moreover, the College established the Center for Studying Structures of Race, now located in the renovated Slave Quarters at the Monterey property on campus.

“The increased diversity has greatly added to the vibrancy of the College,” says Mike, “but we still have much more work to do.”

The proof is in the performance Roanoke College students over the years have benefitted from close relationships with fine faculty. Indeed, great teaching has been a major factor in awarding

“[The students] make a game of it.

Sometimes they’ll come up and see if I know their names. I might not know their name when they first come up, but I sure remember it the next time I see them.”

tenure, which is not always the case at other colleges and universities.

Columbia Teachers College conducted research which featured on-campus research at 9 colleges to assess overall teaching effectiveness. The researchers conducted 90 observations at Roanoke in various classrooms. The final report revealed that Roanoke ranked at the top of the list, which included highly competitive colleges and at least one Ivy League university. As Mike notes proudly, “Great teaching happens here.”

The College has also earned recognition as a top producer of academic scholars, including Fulbright (18 in the last eight years) Gilman, Goldwater and Truman awardees.

Where the president knows your name When new students come to Roanoke, Mike tells them that he will try to learn the name of each one — no mean feat given all the other challenges facing any college president. “They make a game of it,” laughs Mike, “Sometimes they’ll come up and see if I know their names. I might not know their name when they first come up, but I sure remember it the next time I see them.”

Virginia House of Delegates member Sam Rasoul ’02 cited Mike’s propensity to remember students’ names when he spoke about him at a February session of the General Assembly, where Mike was honored for his four decades of service to the Commonwealth.

On a related note, how many college and university students anywhere have a president who will teach them how to tie a bowtie?

A natural leader Mike’s leadership skills have been tapped well beyond the Roanoke College campus by local, regional and national organizations too numerous to list here. If he joins an organization, he usually rises to the top of that group. In January, he was elected as chair of the Board of Directors of the Council of Independent Colleges. Located in Washington, D.C., the CIC is an organization of 760 nonprofit independent colleges and universities, state-based councils of independent colleges and other higher education affiliates.

I ask Mike what it takes to be a good

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leader. “Listen,” he says. “You have to know how to listen. You have to understand the fears and concerns of other people. When someone disagrees with me, I want to know why. Also talk straight; tell the truth.

Let people know what they can do to help fulfill the vision of the organization.”

Mike led the College through some trying times, such as the 2008 recession and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.

For inspiration and guidance, he’d turn to the writings of great leaders, such as Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln.

“I’m proud that we kept the College moving forward through the difficult challenges,” he notes.

Mike sees two major challenges facing colleges and universities across the nation today. “Colleges have to give students the critical thinking skills they need to solve complex problems. And they have to make colleges accessible and affordable for all students.”

Passing on some advice For prospective students: “Don’t let other people tell you what to do. Decide what college best fits you. Be driven, then, by internal factors, not external.”

For students graduating from Roanoke: “Take the tools you have learned here — thinking, writing and speaking — and use them to solve problems working along with others to make the world a better place.”

When I ask Mike what advice he would give his successor, who at the time had not been named, he immediately says, “None.”

And then, after some prodding, he suggests, “Get to know and love the culture at Roanoke College.”

A shout-out to Terri Mike gives huge credit for any successes he’s realized at Roanoke College to Terri Maxey, his life partner. “The students love her, calling her ‘Mama Maxey.’ She often comes along when I take trips around the country to meet with alumni. If she doesn’t come, they’ll say, ‘Where’s Terri?’

They want to see her more than they want to see me! She’s been a great co-leader.”

After 37 years “When I first came to Roanoke College in 1985, I thought I’d stay three or four years.

But I came to love the culture, and the College kept giving me new opportunities

While Mike Maxey will no longer be president of Roanoke College, you can be assured that he, and Terri, will ever be loyal Maroons.

The College will ever be in his blood.

for learning and growing. I’ve had plenty of chances to go elsewhere, but I never thought seriously about moving.”

Next steps Mike Maxey doesn’t have specific shortterm plans after he steps down on Aug. 1.

Rather, he’s taking the advice of those who tell him, “Don’t jump right into everything.”

That said, he has some general ideas.

First: Spend more time with his new grandson and his three sons and, of course, Terri. Second: Try to do some significant things for the local community.

Third: Be of professional service to other college presidents.

While Mike Maxey will no longer be

president of Roanoke College, you can be assured that he, and Terri, will ever be loyal Maroons. The College will ever be in his blood.

The College, in turn, will forever be in his debt. RC David Treadwell, of Brunswick, Maine, is an independent writing and editing professional.

President of Treadwell Associates, he holds a B.A. in psychology from Bowdoin College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

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LOOKING BACK I will always treasure the opportunity to have served Roanoke

College as president. Throughout my time in office, the support and effort of thousands of Maroons made the work satisfying and productive. We accomplished a great deal together. I always appreciated the shoulders of giants before our time who allowed us to achieve at a high level.

I am immensely proud to be associated with our community, which centers on providing outstanding and life-changing experiences for students. Accomplishments of Roanoke’s alumni making a difference in the world add to my overflowing pride.

Strength in academic and student programming and in fiscal health are Roanoke hallmarks. The support of faculty, staff, alumni and local community is deep and abiding. Students eagerly learn and grow toward leading lives of meaning and purpose.

We are poised to accelerate Roanoke College’s progress. It brings me comfort and confidence in that faith in our future.

— Michael C. Maxey, retirement announcement, Sept. 23, 2021

President Michael C. Maxey in the Cregger Center arena on Sept. 23, 2021, announcing to the Roanoke College community his plans to retire at the end of the 2021-22 academic year.

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High-fiving at the Maxeys’ first Friday on the Quad as President and First Lady of Roanoke College.

“We love that our president helps #Maroons2014 move in,” Roanoke College tweeted in August 2010, during the Class of 2014 move-in.

President Maxey in a reflective moment with Robert Wortmann ’60, then chair of the Roanoke College Board of Trustees, on the day the Board unanimously elected Maxey the 11th president of Roanoke College.

Wortmann died on April 4 of this year.

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Great sports! The Maxeys got a proper, frigid dousing in 2014 as part of the Ice Bucket Challenge, a campaign to promote awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) — also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease — and encourage donations for research.

President Maxey in the Cregger Center arena with Morris Cregger ’64, a four-sport athlete during his years at Roanoke, a charter member of the Roanoke College Athletic Hall of Fame and former chair of the College’s Board of Trustees, who dreamed of an athletic and academic center on the Roanoke College campus. In October 2016, the 155,000-square-foot Morris M. Cregger Center was dedicated. “Today is a day to revel in what we shaped,” Maxey said during the dedication ceremony. “The Cregger Center shows us what we can do together to make Roanoke College a better place.”

Who could resist Clark, the cute canine owned by Dara Goldman ’19, a student intern in the College’s Office of Marketing and Communications during her years at Roanoke? When asked to pose with the lovable pup, President Maxey agreed, producing this perfect pic.

“Four real aims at Roanoke,” President Maxey told graduating seniors at Commencement 2019. “Pursue truth. Contribute to community. Serve others. Do your best.”

Call it “American Gothic: Roanoke College.” In March 2017, the Roanoke College Board of Trustees honored President Maxey’s 10th anniversary and the 175th anniversary of the College with the “Tree of 40 Fruit,” a project by artist Sam Van Aken that is part artwork, part research and part conservation effort. The grafted tree, planted in front of Olin Hall, will ultimately grow to produce over 40 varieties of stone fruit including peaches, plums and cherries, blooming in the spring and bearing fruit in the summer. Appropriately — and good-naturedly — the president and Terri Maxey recreated “American Gothic,” the famed 1930 painting by artist Grant Wood.

26 ROANOKE COLLEGE MAGAZINE | ISSUE ONE 2022

A week after her interview with a Truman Scholarship review panel in April 2015, Zahava Urecki ’16 received an email from President Maxey’s executive assistant, asking Urecki to come by the president’s office the following morning. When Urecki arrived at his office the next morning, she found several faculty members, and the president, with a congratulatory bouquet of balloons. Urecki, who was the first Roanoke College student to receive a Truman, now works as a Professional Staff Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

How did Roanoke College, in 2008, observe Pi Day, celebrating the mathematical constant Pi? By baking pies? Eating lots of pie? Pieing the president to raise funds for a nonprofit??

“Fix your bowtie,” WRKE Radio posted on Instagram in September 2018. “Maxey is on at 7:00 p.m. EST.”

Virginia Del. Sam Rasoul ’02 and staff from the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia pulled off a big surprise for President Maxey on Feb. 17, 2022. Maxey had traveled to Richmond to help with lobbying efforts of the CICV and to meet with Nicole Riley ’95, Virginia’s Deputy Secretary of Labor. From the floor of the House of Delegates chambers, Rasoul introduced Maxey, then introduced House Joint Resolution 228, which he said was the Virginia General Assembly’s way of “showing deep thanks to Maxey’s four decades of service to the Commonwealth.” The resolution passed unanimously.

“Terri and I have given our best to Roanoke College and its extended family, but whatever we have given to our College has been repaid tenfold in the form of the joys of leading this wonderful, esteemed place,” President Maxey wrote in a letter to the College community announcing his retirement. “Thank you.”

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givingnews

“It is my hope that other women will use this endowment as a springboard, to donate as they are able to their respective sport to ensure that our efforts will help our future female student-athletes.”

— Peggy Patrick ’51

Peggy Patrick’s senior portrait from the 1951 Roanoke College yearbook. Remarks accompanying her portrait included the following: “Tiny, but what an athlete!”

G IV IN G W IT H P U RP O S E

“

The funds generated from this endowment will help all women’s sports teams to compete in the best environment possible.

— Kim Blair ’93 vice president, resource development

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”

Gift establishes endowment for women’s athletics PEGGY PATRICK ’51 cannot recall how the team of Southwest Virginia student-athletes that competed in a state collegiate field hockey tournament during her senior year fared — if the team won, lost, or earned a respectable finish.

But she remembers the excitement of being one of the first female student-athletes from Roanoke College selected to participate in a tournament of that kind. “I remember, since the tournament was in Richmond, that my parents, who lived in Washington, D.C., came down to see me play,” she recalled.

Patrick said she also remembers how female studentathletes at colleges and universities, “got a very short shrift” back then.

So, in this 50th anniversary year of Title IX — the federal law that prohibits discrimination in higher education, stating that colleges and universities cannot exclude women from any activity, including athletics — Patrick’s announcement of a gift that creates the Roanoke College Women’s Athletic Endowment seems overwhelmingly appropriate.

The endowment will support the College’s 10 varsity athletic programs for women. Such endowments are rare in NCAA Division III, where Roanoke College competes in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.

“We’re so fortunate that Peggy had such a positive experience with her coaches and teammates during her time at Roanoke College,” said Scott Allison ’79, Roanoke College director of athletics. “Her gesture of thanks — an endowment

for women’s athletics — is, in a word, groundbreaking.”

Patrick, an economics major at Roanoke, earned a varsity letter in field hockey and basketball. She played for legendary Maroons coach Fran Ramser and was teammates with another coaching legend, Billie “Jean” Beamer ‘52.

“Back in those days, people didn’t pay as much attention to female athletics,” said Patrick, who currently lives in Northern Virginia. “I am happy to see that people are now recognizing female student-athletes.”

Patrick had a 40-year career in accounting at General Electric, ascending the corporate ladder to become one of the first women to hold a management position at GE. “Athletics had a tremendous impact on my life,” said Patrick. She is using her endowment gift as a challenge to encourage others to support women’s athletics at Roanoke College.

“It is my hope that other women will use this endowment as a springboard, to donate as they are able to their respective sport to ensure that our efforts will help our future female student-athletes,” Patrick said.

For more information about the Roanoke College Women’s Athletic Endowment, please contact Jack Williams at (540) 375-2484 or at jewilliams@roanoke.edu. To contribute directly, please visit roanoke.edu/patrickchallenge.

Giving, to ensure opportunity

From left to right, Lori East, Anna East Watts, Tommy East, Eliza East and Karlyn East. Photo courtesy of Tommy East.

WHEN TOMMY EAST ’94 reflects on his time at Roanoke College, he credits his success to a wellknown member of Roanoke’s administrative staff: Leah Russell ’79, associate dean and registrar.

While East, a lifelong Salem, Virginia resident, was earning an associate’s degree from Virginia Western Community College in 1981, he formed a close mentorship with Leah Russell’s father, Ted Russell, who was East’s fast-pitch softball coach throughout high school and even after college.

East’s original life plan was to earn his associate’s degree and start working; jobs, though, were scarce. In the back of his mind was the hope of attending Roanoke, but he wasn’t sure how to make that a reality, especially with wanting to work full time. Ted Russell leaped into action.

Russell offered East a position at Richfield Retirement Community in Salem, where Russell was president and chief executive officer, as long as East promised he would continue his education.

To make good on this promise, Russell reached out to his daughter, Leah, for guidance.

With Leah Russell’s help, East enrolled at Roanoke to take evening courses to accommodate his full-time work. In 1994, East earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration.

“We all have that one person who believes in us,” said East. “For me, that was Leah’s father, and Leah always made sure I was on the right track with my courses.”

Ted Russell and Leah Russell, who is retiring this year, supported East’s academic efforts, leading him to a fulfilling 41-year career in health care. He spent 27 of those years at Richfield

Retirement Community, where he served in a variety of positions, including vice president of administration.

East currently is president and chief executive officer of American HealthCare, LLC, which specializes in short-term rehabilitation and intermediate and long-term care for senior patients.

East has also served on the Board of Directors and the Executive Board for the Virginia Health Care Association. In 2014, East was appointed by then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe to serve on the Commonwealth of Virginia Board of Health. In 2018, Gov. Ralph Northam appointed East to a second term on the board.

East credits Roanoke’s academic rigor as the bedrock for his professional achievement.

Because of this, as well as the influence of Ted and Leah Russell, East contributes annually to the College, to ensure that “students and professors have the same opportunities as me.”

“What stands out to me about Roanoke is the small-knit community,” said East. “The professors were understanding of me working and going to school, and that made all the difference in my education.”

That sense of community and high expectation level is especially important to East, as all of the children of East and his wife, Lori — Karlyn East ’16, Anna East Watts ’18 and Eliza East ’22 — are part of his Roanoke College legacy, as is their son-in-law, Joshua Watts ’18.

“I’m excited to see what’s next for Roanoke College,” East said. “Certainly, contributing can help with that.” — Laura Connelly ’09 ROANOKE.EDU

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athleticsnews Roanoke hosted Southern Virginia University on Feb. 3 at the Cregger Center. The Maroons won, 34-15, in the final competition of their inaugural season.

Above, Webb Drescher ’25 in action. Photo by Ryan Hunt ’18.

I’d say we’re in the top three in the nation in Division III with our facilities, and we get great support from the school.

”

— Coach Nate Yetzer

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Wrestling makes impressive debut

BY BRIAN HOFFMAN ’74

THE INAUGURAL WRESTLING SEASON at Roanoke College is now in the books and has been deemed a first period pin.

Coach Nate Yetzer is excited about the present and future state of the program.

“Absolutely,” said Yetzer with a big smile when asked if the first season on the mats was considered a success. “We had three goals: We wanted to place in the top 10 in the region, and we finished seventh among 22 schools. We wanted to have four place-winners at the region, and we had five. And, we wanted to have a national qualifier. We not only had one, but we had an All-American.”

Mahlic Sallah ’23 finished seventh in Division III to earn All-American status after winning the NCAA Southeast Regional championship at 184 pounds. Sallah transferred to Roanoke from Campbellsville University, a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) school in Kentucky, to wrestle for Yetzer’s first team at Roanoke.

“I knew Coach Yetzer when he was at Ferrum,” Sallah said. “He loves to win but he also cares about his wrestlers. Wrestling is really about who

GRIFFIN PIVARUNAS ’16

“

Takedown!

Maroons wrestling Coach Nate Yetzer said he is excited about the present and future state of the program.

“[Coach Yetzer] loves to win but he also cares about his wrestlers.

Wrestling is really about who you are after school.

He’s a good person who wants to see us succeed after we put down the shoes.”

RYAN HUNT ’18

Left to right, Maroons wrestlers Sean Hall ’25, Mahlic Sallah ’23 and Sawyer Dereszynski ’25 at the Southeast Wrestling Conference Championships at Averett University in Danville, Virginia.

— Mahlic Sallah ’23

seventh and become the first Maroon All-American in wrestling.

“I really enjoyed wrestling at Roanoke College,” said Sallah. “The academics are tougher, but the school is nice, the people are kind, and it’s a great environment.”

Sallah was one of 40 wrestlers to compete on the first Roanoke College team, with no seniors on the roster. Also placing in the region were Jarrod Pominville ’25 with a fourth place at 149 pounds, Mac Cafurello ’25 with a sixth place at

GRIFFIN PIVARUNAS ’16

you are after school. He’s a good person who wants to see us succeed after we put down the shoes.”

After winning the regional at Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Sallah competed in the Division III national tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He won his first two matches before losing in the quarterfinals. He battled back in the consolation bracket to earn a spot in the “blood round,” where he took a 2-1 decision over Daniel Surich of The College of New Jersey to finish

125 and seventh places in the region went to Morgan Robinson ’24 at 141 and Jack Campbell ’25 at 165.

Yetzer has another strong class coming in next year, and he’s excited about the future of the program. He had wrestlers from nine different states sign up for his “prospect camp,” where kids come see the school and learn about the program.

“Our prospect camp sold out,” he said. “We have a lot to offer at Roanoke College. I’d say we’re in the top three in the nation in Division III with our facilities, and we get great support from the school. With our academics, this is the kind of place kids are looking for.”

The local high school coaches would agree and are happy to have a college program right in their own backyard.

“The Roanoke College wrestling program has been a great boost for the sport in the Roanoke Valley,” said Jason Cline, wrestling coach at Glenvar High School in Roanoke County. “From kids participating in camps to watching the Maroons compete during the season, it’s been a real boost to the visibility of the sport in this area. The coaching staff there is just top-notch.

I’m excited to see where they take this program over the next few years. It’s going to be fun to watch.”

The Maroons had two home dual matches in their inaugural season and also hosted the Southeast Open and the Star City Classic. The first home match at the Cregger Center was against Washington and Lee University, and a large and vocal crowd showed up for the event.

Yetzer has one more goal that he hopes he can accomplish next season, and with the success of this year’s team no one doubts he can.

“My goal when I took this job was to one day fill up that building for a match,” said Yetzer. “I know we’re going to do it.”

Steven Martinos ’25 at the 2021 Southeast Open at the Cregger Center.

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athleticsnews S TAND OUT S

Athletic accomplishments recognized at HOF ceremony FIVE ALUMNI STUDENT-ATHLETES — and one championship team — were inducted into the Roanoke College Athletic Hall of Fame during Alumni Weekend in April.

Established in 1971, the Hall of Fame honors individuals who have made history while coaching or playing for their respective athletic programs at the College.

Hall of Fame inductees for 2022 include: • Samuel Love ’10 – Men’s Lacrosse • Jaleesa Osborne ’10 – Women’s Basketball; Track & Field • Stephen Simmons ’10 – Men’s Lacrosse • Zach Thomas ’09 – Men’s Lacrosse • Robin Yerkes ’10 – Track & Field • The 1972 Men’s Basketball Team, celebrating the 50th anniversary of their NCAA Division II Championship In honor of President Michael C. Maxey’s retirement, a bow tie was “retired” in his honor, to hang with retired athletic jerseys in the Morris M. Cregger Center.

Class of 2022 inductees, from left to right, Stephen Simmons ’10, Jaleesa Osborne ’10, Robin Yerkes ’10, Samuel Love ’10 and Zach Thomas ’10.

Director of Athletics Scott Allison ’79 presents President Michael C. Maxey with his “retired” bow tie.

Members of the 1972 Men’s Basketball Team. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the team’s NCAA Division II Championship.

Endowment fund created for women’s basketball

Veronica Kelly ’06, whose gift of $50,000 has established the Women’s Basketball Endowment Fund.

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ON JAN. 29, 2022, Veronica Kelly ’06, a member of the Maroons women’s basketball team during her years at Roanoke, hosted a luncheon for alumni players, members of the current team, and friends of the women’s basketball program. During the luncheon, Women’s Basketball Coach Carla Flaherty announced Kelly’s gift of $50,000 to establish the Women’s Basketball Endowment Fund. Gifts made to this fund will help ensure the continued success of the program and will be used to enhance the student-athlete experience. During her remarks, Kelly spoke of her gift as a worthwhile investment with the return being measured by the experience and personal growth of Maroons student athletes. “The desired outcome is that you all get the opportunities to harness all the skills and lessons learned on and off the court and leave here the best possible versions of yourselves,” Kelly said. “The measure of success is when you can use the heartache of loss and the triumph of victory not only to become better athletes and people, but to also pay it forward one day.”

SCOR EB OAR D

RC|highlights LACROSSE On May 19, women’s lacrosse student-athlete Lily Blair ’22 received First Team Academic All District honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), advancing her to the CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot.

A week prior, Blair was named ODAC Offensive Player of the Year, First Team All ODAC and ODAC Scholar Athlete of the Year for women’s lacrosse. That honor was followed by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association announcement that Blair and Addison Schmidt ’23 were named to the IWLCA First Team.

BASEBALL 26-16 (11-9 ODAC) Competed in ODAC Baseball Tournament, May 13–15.

SOFTBALL 30-12 (12-6 ODAC) Competed in NCAA Regional DIII Softball Tournament, May 13–15.

MEN’S LACROSSE 12-5 (8-2 ODAC) Competed in NCAA DIII Men’s Lacrosse Tournament, May 14–15.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE 16-5 (7-1 ODAC) Reached May 15 championship game in the NCAA DIII Women’s Lacrosse National Tournament.

Fell to Gettysburg 9-8 in overtime.

Lilly Blair ’22, who received three 2022 ODAC Women’s Lacrosse awards.

GOLF ODAC announced its All ODAC men’s golf teams after the final round of the championships on April 30 and May 1. Palmer Cuny ’25 and T.J. Whelan ’25 were named to the All-ODAC third team — the first time Roanoke College had an all-conference golfer since 2017, and the first time multiple golfers made All ODAC since 2015.

SOFTBALL On May 3, three Maroons were named to 2022 Softball All ODAC teams. Jada Karnes ’23 (pitcher) and Shanan Hester ’22 (utility) received First Team honors, while Makayla Austin ’23 earned second team honors.

MEN’S BASKETBALL 18-9 (9-7 ODAC)

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Jada Karnes ’22 (left) and Shanan Hester ’22, received All ODAC First Team honors.

20-6 (15-3 ODAC)

MEN’S TENNIS 7-10 (3-4 ODAC)

WOMEN’S TENNIS 7-10 (3-6 ODAC)

MEN’S TRACK & FIELD Sixth at ODAC Championships

WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD Second at ODAC Championships

GOLF Third at ODAC Championships

MEN’S SWIMMING Second at ODAC Championships

WOMEN’S SWIMMING Fourth at ODAC Championships

WRESTLING Seventh at NCAA Southeast Wrestling Conference NOTE: As of May 15, 2022

Coach Eugene Galloway

TRACK & FIELD ODAC announced its 2022 Outdoor Track & Field All ODAC teams on May 6.

Roanoke would see 19 athletes claim 20 All ODAC honors — four First Team, six Second Team and 10 Third Team designations. Special award winners were Elisabeth Cullen ’24, who was named 2022 ODAC Woman’s Outdoor Track & Field Rookie of the Year, and Head T&F Coach Eugene Galloway, named 2022 ODAC Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Coach of the Year.

BASKETBALL For the second year in a row, Roanoke guard/forward Kasey Draper ’23 was named First Team All-State for the Virginia Sports Information Directors’ 2022 Men’s Basketball All State College Division teams on April 13.

Draper also was named First Team All ODAC, ODAC Men’s Basketball Scholar Athlete of the Year, Second Team D3hoops.com All Region, as well as a CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) Academic All American.

ODAC announced the 2022 Women’s Basketball allconference teams on Feb. 23. Renee Alquiza ’22 and Kristina Harrel ’22 were named to the All ODAC teams after receiving the same honor one season ago.

Kasey Draper ’22 in action against Bridgewater College.

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alumninews

Roanoke College magazine welcomes news of your recent accomplishments and/or transitions.

You can write to us at: Office of Alumni Relations, Roanoke College, 221 College Lane, Salem, VA 24153-3794; call us toll-free at 1-866-RCALUMS; fax us at 540-375-2398; email us at alumni@roanoke.edu or update your record online at www.roanoke.edu/alumni.

Due to space constraints and time between issues, submissions might appear in an upcoming issue.

Editorial contributions are welcome but subject to editing. Photographs may be used as space permits, submitted in print or digital format. Digital photos must be 1 MB in size or larger. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee return of contributed materials. We look forward to hearing from you!

class notes 1960s The Rev. H. Fred Fishel Jr. ’63, of Lebanon, Missouri, wrote that he is “joyful in retirement living in a small town.”

Fishel, who holds a B.A. from Roanoke and an M.Div. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, is the retired senior pastor of Southern Baptist Church in Lebanon.

1970s Larry Carlson ’74 is president and CEO of United Methodist Homes of New Jersey, overseeing a large, statewide operation of nursing homes and elder care facilities. Under his leadership, United Methodist Homes received a Silver Award from McKnight’s 2021 Excellence in Technology Awards program. UMH was recognized in the Skilled Nursing division, Innovator of the Year category, for successfully implementing VirtuSense remote resident monitoring devices during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The McKnight’s Excellence in Technology Awards celebrate providers’ use of technology in all facets of senior living, including skilled nursing and homecare.

Larry holds a B.B.A from Roanoke and an M.B.A from Babson College.

A documentary film produced by Pamela Pierce ’72, was shown at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian during the month of April. “However Wide the Sky: Places of Power,” which premiered in 2021, explores the history and spirituality of Indigenous people and places of the American Southwest, and takes viewers on a journey to eight locations to explore connections between the land and the people. Pierce produced the film, which has received considerable media attention in New Mexico, through the Santa Fe-based Silver Bullet Productions, of which Pamela is CEO and president. “The Native Americans in the film talk about the difference between being from a place and of a place,” Pamela told the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper. “I hope that leaders start to recognize that it is a Native story, because the cultural perspective is one that goes back time immemorial, but the burden of protecting the land can’t be only on Native Americans.

That is our burden. It speaks to the kind of people we are, and who we want to be.” Pamela holds a B.A. in sociology from Roanoke, a J.D. from the University of Memphis and an M.A. from the University of Denver.

Don Comer ’74 has released his acoustic jazz guitar CD, “OffHand,” which is available and streaming on all platforms. His second CD, “Lift,” is scheduled for release in the summer of 2022. Don, who holds a B.A. in English from Roanoke, lives in Chesapeake, Virginia, with his wife, Susan.

Michael Martino ’79 has been appointed interim Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Ampio Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company based in Englewood, Colorado. Michael has served as CEO, president or director of a variety of drug development and biotechnology companies.

ALUMNI BOOK “Discovering My Wings: From ‘Perfect’ Wife to an Untethered Life”

By Kara Kihm ’03, LCSW, psychotherapist. Kihm holds a B.A. in sociology from Roanoke and an M.S.W. from Boston College.

Publisher: Independently published (July 2021) Overview: From suburban Virginia to wild Alaska, the desert at Burning Man to the lush Sacred Valley of Peru, Kara’s trip is a nonstop adventure and a deep dive into the depths of her soul. Kara’s journey isn’t just a cross-country road trip, it’s a constant deconstruction and redefining of identity, from the perfect southern woman to a gritty, fierce, intuition-following adventurer. Kara was raised with a traditional southern upbringing and Catholic dogma. Growing up she learned to be pretty, sweet, quiet and do whatever it took to make people like her. She married a good provider and moved into the perfect home.

She had it all — down to the proverbial white picket fence. When her marriage fell apart, everything Kara had been taught to want crumbled around her. She stood in the midst of the rubble and rather than crumble too, she decided to redefine it all. What were her passions, dreams, and desires without her perfectly scripted life? To answer these questions, she sold everything, bought a van, and drove to Alaska with her two dogs. When she discovered the voice of her intuition, it led her on an incredible hero’s journey, not just across the country, but straight into her truest essence.

Reader review: “Inspiring read for the many women that are living a life expected of them, but want to live a life that is authentic and true to their soul.”

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P R O F I L E

Dowell takes top athletics post at UNO

UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA AT OMAHA

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Adrian Dowell ’08 at Nov. 15, 2021 news conference at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

From 2016 to 2020, he served as a member of the Roanoke College Board of Trustees. He holds a B.B.A. from Roanoke and an M.B.A. from Virginia Tech.

1980s Jenny (Cunningham) Carroll ’86 has retired from the Hopewell Valley (New Jersey) Regional School District, where she taught history for more than 30 years.

Jenny graduated with a B.A. in sociology from Roanoke and from Rider University with an M.A. in psychology.

David Linden ’87 was selected as the new Roanoke County (Virginia) School Board chairman for 2022.

Linden represents the Hollins District on the five-person board and was first elected to the board in 2017. A longtime real estate agent in the Roanoke Valley, Linden holds a B.A. in political science and criminal justice from Roanoke.

Annamarie (Scholand) Kresge ’87, has been part of the freelance music community in the Roanoke Valley and surrounding areas for over 35 years. On Dec. 19, she performed at Fincastle Presbyterian Church Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols as guest musician on violin.

Annamarie earned a B.S. in mathematics at Roanoke.

drian Dowell ’08, captain of the Maroons men’s basketball team during his years at Roanoke College, was named athletic director at the University of Nebraska at Omaha in November 2021.

Dowell moved to the position — officially titled vice chancellor of athletics — after serving since 2014 in various positions at Creighton University, most recently as assistant vice president and associate athletic director. He was selected for the University of Nebraska position after a national search.

Dowell will have direct responsibility for the University of Nebraska’s NCAA Division I Intercollegiate Athletics Program, including 16 varsity sports and over 300 student-athletes. The position supervises a staff of approximately 75, and represents the university nationally and within the National Collegiate Hockey Conference and Summit League.

“It is an incredible honor and a privilege to lead this athletic department, and I am grateful to the search committee for this opportunity,” Dowell said during a news conference announcing his appointment. “Greatness is the collective goal at UNO and I believe there is a strong foundation in place that we can build on together to achieve that goal. I couldn’t be more excited to get started.”

Dowell holds a B.S. in health and human performance - sport management from Roanoke. He earned an M.B.A and a master’s degree in sport administration from West Virginia University.

James Pennix ’88 has been appointed senior associate director of undergraduate admissions at Virginia Tech. James most recently served as assistant vice chancellor for enrollment management at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina. Prior to that position, he served as vice president for enrollment management at Ferrum College; dean of admissions and assistant vice president of enrollment management at Radford University; and director of admissions at Roanoke College. James holds a B.S. in mathematics from Roanoke and an M.S.W. from Radford University.

her new position after serving as managing director of Markel Ventures, a global specialty insurance company headquartered in Richmond. She holds a B.A. in criminal justice from Roanoke College, and received a B.A. in political science from Armstrong Atlantic State College in 1999 and a J.D. from the University of Richmond in 2003.

Katharine (Caldwell) Spangler ’94 is working as an English as Second Language (ESL) teacher for Botetourt County Public Schools. Katharine holds a B.B.A. from Roanoke and a certification in elementary education from Radford University. She and husband Chad Spangler ’94, live in Daleville, Virginia. continued on page 37

Road trip!

1990s Michelle Austin ’93 has been promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer of Bank of Botetourt.

Michelle, who lives in Buchanan, Virginia, holds a B.B.A. from Roanoke and an M.B.A. from Troy State University.

Beth Hungate-Noland ’94 has rejoined the Corporate Section of Williams Mullen, P.C., a multistate law firm, as a partner in the firm’s Richmond, Virginia office. Beth moves to

Paul Lovetere ’87, right, and Matt Silverman ’88, left, embarked on a long-delayed 10-day, 10-state driving trip to Civil War battlefields, and minor and major league ballparks in 2021. A few weeks later, they reconvened in Roanoke for the wedding of Frank Foti ’87, where they caught up with Doug Kline ’87 and Dave Crummitt ’88.

Matt also recently penned a novel, “Out of a Dog’s Mouth,” under the pseudonym ‘McNally Berry’ and “featuring a familiar school setting that goes by a new name,” he said.

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P R O F I L E

“Kid with a camera” G

rowing up, Molly McCormick ’08 was always the “kid with a camera,” photographing little childhood moments offered from a vast world. It’s no surprise that as the years progressed, McCormick continued to photograph personal moments, leading her to explore what the art form had to offer for more than just herself.

At Roanoke College, McCormick studied art, solidifying her “love for photography.” While spending innumerable hours in Olin Hall’s darkroom, she learned the valuable lesson that patience brings beauty, one press of the shutter button at a time.

After graduating with a B.A. in art, McCormick traveled to Tanzania where her appreciation of photography took a deeper dive into landscape and wildlife shots, a type of photography that relies on her foundation of patience.

“Every time I’ve tried to ‘get the shot,’ the day never truly turns out as I planned,” said McCormick. “That’s the best part though; you never know what Mother Nature is going to toss your way.

My best shots are those unplanned.”

For McCormick, her drive to “get the shot” is rooted in pathos.

“To me, the perfect shot is one that evokes emotion,” said McCormick. “I want people to look at one of my photos and feel like they are right there in that moment.”

There is one “perfect shot” during her 14-year career that stands out to McCormick. While exploring Alaska’s Lake Clark National Park, McCormick was set up to capture the varying sunrise hues reflected off the lake. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a brown bear entering the frame. It was a moment in time that stood still.

“It made me incredibly emotional, and it was an important reminder of how lucky I am to witness moments like that, let alone capture it with my lens to share with the world,” McCormick said.

That photograph, titled “Misty Morning,” has indeed caught the world’s attention. McCormick has been featured in National

Molly McCormick, captured in a self-portrait.

Geographic, Outdoor Photographer, Rolling Stone, and National Parks Magazine. McCormick has also earned a variety of awards including Alaska Travel’s 2021 grand prize, Share the View’s 2020 first prize, and National Geographic’s 2020 “Beyond the Frame” grand prize, her proudest accomplishment thus far.

To add to her list of recognitions, McCormick’s photos have also gained attention from the Buffalo Games, a Buffalo, New York, gaming company that specializes in puzzles, games, crafts and educational toys. Three of McCormick’s photos are featured as puzzle images for the company’s new Photographic Collection, which is available at Walmart, Target, and on Amazon.

The three puzzles feature images from Canada’s Moraine Lake and Grassi Lakes, and the Milky Way Galaxy, photographed from Estes Park, Colorado.

While McCormick’s career is in an exciting place, she continues to appreciate her Roanoke College experience.

Roanoke “provided me an opportunity to really fall in love with the process of photography,” said McCormick. “It set the groundwork for my basic understanding of photography. I feel like I really developed my eye with shooting, and how to slow down, think and really focus on what shots I want to get and what story I want to tell. Roanoke has such a big piece of my heart.”

As for the future, McCormick will continue to tell stories through her lens while also bringing attention to conservation, particularly the fight to protect the gray wolf population.

“I love being able to capture animals in their natural habitats,” said McCormick, who lives in Colorado with her partner, Bianca, and their four dogs and three rats. “Unfortunately, a lot of those habitats are being destroyed, as well as the species. I want future generations to be able to see these creatures and create their own memories.” — Laura Connelly ’09

“Roanoke College provided me an opportunity to really fall in love with the process of photography.”

Molly McCormick’s award-winning photo, “Misty Morning.”

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Sara (Linkous) Miller ’95 is a special education teacher at William Byrd High School. Sara, who holds a B.B.A. from Roanoke, is completing a graduate degree in special education at Radford University.

2000s Sarah Pauline (Finch) Jackson ‘03 has received the Early Career Award from the National Association for Gifted Children’s Special Populations Network. The NAGC’s Special Populations Network develops initiatives aimed at increasing the recognition of special populations of gifted children and promotes equitable services to address their diverse needs. Sarah, currently an instructional specialist for Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools, was recognized for work she has done for gifted and twice-exceptional students during her 10 years in the field of gifted education. Sarah also serves on the Maryland Gifted and Talented Advisory Council.

She holds a B.A. in environmental policy

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and in political science from Roanoke, an M.S. in education from Johns Hopkins University; and an M.A. in teaching from Hollins University.

Eric Pernotto ’03 has received a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership (Higher Education) from Clemson University. He holds a B.A. in biology from Roanoke and an M.Ed. from the University of Notre Dame. Eric is associate director for residential learning at Clemson University.

Joanna Colosimo ’04, vice president of Workforce Equity & Compliance Strategy at DCI Consulting in Washington, D.C., is featured in a new book, “Lessons in Life and Leadership: Women Leaders Offer a Lifetime of Wisdom to Work and Live By,” by Alison Conigliaro-Hubbard. Joanna holds a B.B.A.

from Roanoke and an M.A. in industrial and organizational psychology from Radford University.

Robert Winfield ’05 has been named boys basketball head coach at Rockbridge County (Virginia) High School. Robert, a Maroons men’s basketball player during his years at Roanoke, spent seven seasons coaching on the college level. He was a graduate assistant and later an assistant at Division II Carson-Newman. He also was an assistant at Roanoke College for three seasons. Robert graduated from Roanoke with a B.B.A. Meghan (Fuller) Coates ’06 in September 2021 was named associate vice president for financial planning and budget at the University of Richmond. Meghan moves to her new position after serving as director of Henrico County, Virginia’s Department of Finance.

She is credited with leading Henrico’s

financial response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Meghan told the Henrico Citizen that her decision to leave the Henrico County position was, in part, made after a recent trip back to Roanoke College.

That trip, which reminded her of how invigorated she felt during her years on campus, prompted her to explore job openings at the University of Richmond, she said. Meghan holds a B.B.A. from Roanoke and an M.S. from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Molly (Festa) McMillin ’07 has been named chief financial officer for Allspring Global Investments, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based global asset management firm. Molly previously served as the group financial officer for Wells Fargo Asset Management. In her new role, Molly leads the management and oversight of all financial activities for Allspring, including management of decision support and strategic business initiatives. She holds a B.B.A. with a concentration in finance from Roanoke and an M.B.A., finance from

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Shaw appointed to Texas pharmacy board I

an Shaw ’08, an associate at the law firm of Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, PC in Dallas, Texas, was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to the Texas State Board of Pharmacy in December 2021.

The board promotes, preserves and protects the health, safety and welfare of Texas citizens by regulating the practice of pharmacy in the public interest.

“It is evident that during these times, public health is a major topic of interest, and it will be exciting and impactful to help lead the charge in making sure Texas is upholding quality care and focusing on positive patient outcomes,” Shaw said. “The board’s primary focus is to prioritize the health and safety of the citizens of Texas in all aspects of facilitating pharmacy regulation. Although there will be some challenges, I am excited to be part of the solution.”

Shaw is a member of the Dallas Bar Association of Young Lawyers, JL Turner Association, Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Development Council. He received a B.B.A. from Roanoke

College and a J.D. from the University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law. Shaw has had a varied career path.

After graduating from Roanoke College, he took a job at Brewer Attorneys & Counselors as a junior consultant in New York City. While living in New York, he received a Marketing Certificate at Cornell University and a Public Relations Certificate from New York University. In addition, he founded Creative Outlook On Life (C.O.O.L.), a lifestyle fashion company, with two other Roanoke alumni, Shaman Douglass ’09 and Nuwo Johnson ’08.

After nine years as a consultant with Brewer in New York, Shaw moved to Dallas to attend the University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law. Upon graduating and passing the bar, he accepted an associate position at Brewer. After spending about 18 months as an attorney at Brewer practicing commercial litigation — primarily on the federal level — Shaw took a job with his current employer, Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C, where he practices commercial litigation and labor employment.

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alumninews Queens University of Charlotte, where she serves as a member of the McColl School of Business Advisory Board of Directors.

The Rev. Kimberly (Hughes) Berenotto ’09 has accepted the position as pastor of Longswamp United Church of Christ in Mertztown, Pennsylvania. Kimberly holds a B.A. in sociology from Roanoke and a M.Div. from Lancaster Theological Seminary.

2010s Cathie Anthony ’10 successfully defended her doctoral dissertation in September 2021. She now holds an Ed.D. from the College of William & Mary. A school social worker for the York County (Virginia) School Division, Cathie also holds an M.S.W. from Virginia Commonwealth University and a B.A. in sociology from Roanoke.

Kendrick Chittock ’10 is an expedition photographer based in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. His photography and writing have appeared in outdoor magazines such as The Fly Fish

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Journal and Gray’s Sporting Journal, and in the publications of several nonprofit organizations. Kendrick holds a B.S. in environmental science from Roanoke and an M.S. from Lincoln University. To see his work, visit www.dkendrickc.com.

Casey Fletcher ’10 serves as president of the Virginia Volunteer Board of Conquering CHDVirginia, the nonprofit state chapter of a national organization that provides support to patients with congenital heart disease and their families. “One in 100 babies are born with congenital heart disease, my son Hugh included,” Casey shared in an email.

“I personally became involved in the organization after my son was born with an undiagnosed heart defect and underwent heart surgery at 4 days old.” Support from the volunteer-led organization covers the lifespan of CHD from prenatal diagnosis through adults living with CHD, as well as bereaved loved ones. When not volunteering for Conquering CHD-Virginia, Casey is a vice president, commercial lending for Virginia National Bank in Charlottesville, Virginia. She holds a B.B.A. from Roanoke.

In December 2021, Alex Munro ’10 received his Ph.D. in Theatre (Performance Studies) from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. Alex holds an M.F.A. from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa and a B.A. in international relations from Roanoke.

Nicholas Zgorski ’10 has been promoted to director of digital marketing for Prognos Health, a leading health tech company headquartered in New York City.

Nicholas moves to his new position after serving for two years as senior manager, digital marketing for Prognos. He has held marketing positions for several other companies as well, including DataBank, Ltd., The Strouse Corporation and MOS Creative. Nicholas holds a B.B.A. from Roanoke.

Indre Malaiskaite ’11, NP has joined Friendship Physician Clinic, part of Friendship Health, a skilled nursing and postacute care provider in Roanoke, Virginia.

Indre holds a B.S. in biology from Roanoke and undergraduate and master’s degrees in nursing from the Jefferson College of Health Sciences.

Ashley Briggs ’13 is serving as public health director of the New River Valley (Va.) Regional Commission’s Business Continuity Team. In August 2021, Ashley and her team — which provides technical resources necessary for business owners to operate in the COVID-19 environment — were awarded a 2021 Aliceann Wohlbruck Impact Award from the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO). The Impact Awards program honors NADO members for their creative approaches to advancing regional economic development and improved quality of life. The 2021 class of awardees consists of 102 projects from 70 organizations spanning 24 states. Ashley holds a B.S. in biology from Roanoke and an M.A. in public health from Virginia Tech.

Carmen Graves ’13 won the women’s division of the 2021 Kalakaua Merrie Mile (adjacent to Waikiki Beach) in December 2021 with a time of 4:44. Graves, who competed for Roanoke College during her collegiate career, ran 4:44 and won by 35 seconds. (About 800 runners finished the race.) Graves’s time was close to her per-

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Alumna among White House appointees O

n Sept. 24, 2021 the Biden-Harris Administration announced eight appointees to the U.S. Department of Energy. That group of eight included Rose StephensBooker ’08, who was appointed Regional Intergovernmental and External Affairs Specialist for the West, Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs.

Stephens-Booker rose to the ranks of presidential appointees after nearly a year as a senior associate at BlocPower, an energy technology startup where she developed and managed the company’s partnership strategy to bring clean energy technology solutions to underserved communities. She previously led efforts focused on energy efficiency and market transformation through public-private partnerships as a program manager for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR Program.

“Serving as an Intergovernmental and External Affairs Specialist for the U.S. Department of Energy allows me to tap

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so many of the wonderful skills and experiences that I developed as an undergrad at Roanoke College,” Stephens-Booker said.

“For as long as I can remember I have been really passionate about two things: environmental protection and making music. While these two topics appear, at the onset, vastly different, I was given the freedom and support to explore them both while at Roanoke.”

“I’ll be forever grateful that I wasn’t pushed into one lane but rather encouraged to creatively make it all work and to be as inventive and resourceful with my liberal arts education and undergrad experiences,” she said.

Stephens-Booker holds a B.A. in Environmental Policy from Roanoke and an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

She and her husband, Jonathan, and their son, Ellington, live in Alexandria, Virginia.

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From WRKE to ESPN

Jamella Foster ’17, at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut.

J

amella Foster ’17 has had a lifelong love of sports. Rec league basketball and soccer in elementary and middle school. Cross country in middle school. Basketball, track and field, softball, and rec league soccer in high school. Four years as a member of the Roanoke College women’s basketball team — her senior year as team captain.

Quite naturally, Foster, who holds a B.A. in communication studies from Roanoke and an M.A. in communication studies from Liberty University, gravitated to sports in her career choice.

sonal best on the track — 4:40.04 — and was her fastest road mile on a record-eligible course. “It was amazing,” Graves, who lives in Denver, said in an interview published on LetsRun.com.

Taylor Briese ’17 has been promoted to co-coordinator, middle school program at Noel C. Taylor Learning Academy in Roanoke, Virginia. Taylor holds a B.A. in history from Roanoke.

Emily Densmore ’17 is working in scholarly publishing at the American Psychological Association in Washington, D.C. Emily earned a B.A. in creative writing at Roanoke.

Richard “Schyler” Wagner ’17 was accepted into the Florida Bar in October 2021 and is working in the Office of the General Counsel, Prosecution Services Unit, Florida Department of Health. Schyler holds a B.S. in sport management from Roanoke and a J.D. from Tulane University School of Law, where he fulfilled requirements for a Certificate of Concentration in Sports Law.

Jamie Worrell ’17 is a kindergarten teacher at Herman L. Horn Elementary School in Vinton, Virginia. She has taught for four years — one year as a resource teacher and three years as a kindergarten classroom teacher. Jamie earned a B.A. in history at Roanoke.

Taylor Carter ’18, an officer with the Roanoke County (Virginia) Police Department, was named the county’s Officer of the Year for 2021 by the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce. The award recognizes an officer who demonstrates selflessness, courage and dedication. Carter was nominated for being “at the top of activity for her Platoon, often exceeding her peers, which speaks volumes about her work ethic. It takes dedication, as well as the tenacity, to perform at the highest level every day.”

Taylor holds a B.A. in criminal justice from Roanoke.

Olivia Earls ’18 has been named head volleyball coach at Averett University.

Olivia, who served as an assistant coach

In August 2021, Foster started working as a production assistant for ESPN’s “NFL Live,” her first job assignment through ESPN Next, a leadership development program based in content production. The 18-month program offers young professionals an opportunity to network with leaders, explore different areas of ESPN, and work with a diverse group of people.

As a production assistant based at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, “I’ll create content that airs on [NFL Live], operate the teleprompter, and interact with the analysts and team members to cover the top NFL news,” said Foster, whose work experience includes a stint as a communications assistant for the Washington Football Team. “After successful completion, I will move on to a content associate, which is the next step up from a production assistant.”

The opportunity to create engaging and compelling content for viewers, and to work with the “best and brightest in the broadcast industry,” is an exciting prospect, Foster said.

“My experience at Roanoke really gave me the footing I needed to launch my career,” she said, noting the weekly WRKE radio show she hosted, and the senior year internship at the local NBC affiliate she secured through the College’s Office of Career Services.

“And I was fortunate to be taught by some world-class professors in the communications department who shared their passion and knowledge about the broadcast industry,” Foster said.

“That really motivated me to use all the opportunities afforded to me at Roanoke to make my dreams a reality.”

and interim head coach at Ferrum College, now leads a team that has moved to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) for the 2022 season. She was a four-year member of the Maroons volleyball program, serving as team captain during her senior season.

She holds a B.S. in health and physical education from Roanoke and an M.S. in strategic leadership from the University of Charleston.

2020s Catriona Brunnemann ’20 moved to Vienna, Austria, in September 2021 to begin a two-year graduate program, the

Sam Rauf ’18 was recognized as one of Business North Carolina magazine’s 21 “Trailblazers” for 2021. The magazine annually publishes a Trailblazers feature to highlight business owners and professionals under the age of 40 who work in North Carolina towns with fewer than 100,000 residents. The magazine, according to its website, focuses on people under age 40 “because of their commitment to small communities when they could pursue excellent opportunities in bigger cities.” As project manager for the Chatham County (N.C.) Economic Development Corp., Sam leads its business retention and expansion program, and supports new business recruitment for the county. He holds a B.A. in economics from Roanoke, where he was a member of the men’s soccer team.

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P R O F I L E

Roanoke alumni among local “40 Under 40”

Rachel Spencer ’04

Jon Murrill ’09

David Guynn ’13

I

Hannah Curtis ’15

Madeline Sefcik ’17

n Roanoke, Virginia, the new year always signals the release of The Roanoker magazine’s ‘40 Under 40’ honorees. The annual list honors young professionals who are making a difference in the greater Roanoke area.

More than 130 people were nominated for 2022. Five Roanoke College alumni made the final list. They include:

DAVID GUYNN ’13, deputy chief, Roanoke Fire-EMS, City of Roanoke. David also serves as a volunteer reader at his children’s schools, and volunteers at events such as Read Across America and National Night Out. He holds a B.S. in physics from Roanoke, and an M.S. in physics and M.S. in astronomy from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

RACHEL (MORGAN) SPENCER ’04, partner/vice president of strategic communications, Access Advertising & Public Relations.

Rachel is a member of Leadership Roanoke Valley, and volunteers with organizations that include Roanoke Valley SPCA, Children’s Trust, Feeding Southwest Virginia, and the United Way. She holds a B.A. in sociology from Roanoke.

HANNAH (CLINE) CURTIS ’15, media relations consultant and public information officer, Carilion Clinic. Hannah is a member of the Roanoke Valley SPCA Board of Directors and the board of Alta Mons, an outdoor ministry of the Roanoke District of the United Methodist Church. Hannah, who regularly mentors young people interested in careers in communications and health care, holds a B.A. in communication studies from Roanoke.

JON MURRILL ’09, portrait and mural artist, and visual art instructor at Patrick Henry High School, Roanoke City Public Schools. Jon, a volunteer soccer coach at Patrick Henry and award-winning artist, holds a B.A. in art from Roanoke and an M.F.A. from Radford University.

Vienna Master of Arts in Applied Human Rights. Catriona holds a B.A. in sociology from Roanoke.

Harrison Lionberger ’20 is an instructional assistant at Hidden Valley High School in Roanoke, Virginia. “We’ll see where this path takes me,” said Harrison, who holds a B.S. in sport management from Roanoke.

Breanna Wilhelm ’20 is working in Houston, Texas with the Houston Dynamo Major League Soccer team and the Houston Dash National Women’s Soccer League team. Breanna holds a B.S. in sport management from Roanoke.

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MADELINE SEFCIK ’17, clerk to the Board of Supervisors and manager of public affairs, Franklin County, Virginia. Madeline is a Maroon Mentor for Roanoke College students interested in local government, Alpha Sigma Alpha advisor for the Roanoke College chapter and a member of the Junior League. She holds a B.B.A. from Roanoke.

Alumni surprise A group of alumni gathered in October 2021 to hold a surprise party for Taryn Thompson ’18 (pictured front row, center), who successfully defended her master’s thesis at Virginia Tech in the Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences Department. In photo, left to right in front row, are Haylee McGuire ’19, Pope Sy ’20, Taryn; Alexandra Wegley ’18, and Anita Lane ’18, and, left to right in back row, Garrett Ruggieri ’20, Hayley Moe ’18, Brian Kerr ’18, Ben Campbell ’21, Kent Griffith ’18 and Matthew Puryear ’18.

Boisvert-Davie wedding

Nanz-Bryan wedding

Emilee O’Dell ’21 has joined the Council of Independent Colleges as projects coordinator.

O’Dell handles administrative responsibilities for CIC’s Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education, Visiting Fellows program, and Presidential Vocation and Institution Mission seminar. She holds a B.A. in religious studies from Roanoke.

marriages Kevin Boisvert ’92 and Jennifer Davie married on Sept. 5, 2021 at the Lake Valhalla Club in Montville, New Jersey.

Kevin, who holds a B.A. in criminal justice from Roanoke and a J.D. from the University of Dayton, is Staff Legal Operations team leader at The Hartford investment and insurance company.

Lisa Richards ’97 and Christopher Sadler married on Aug. 14, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Lisa’s two daughters, Elle and Campbell, and her brother, Michael, were in attendance. The couple flew to New York City for a reception at Yankee Stadium, where the couple met five years ago. (Lisa is a Yankees devotee; Chris is

Wright-Griffith wedding

Kline-Fea wedding

an ardent Boston Red Sox fan.) Two Roanoke alumni, Amy (Waldman) Roseland ’97 and Alison (Stebbins) Donovan ’97 attended the reception. Lisa, who holds a B.A. in criminal justice from Roanoke, is founder and CEO of Piper, LLC an investment and marketing firm to fund beauty and fitness ventures. She also is co-founder of RPZL, a hair extension brand. She recently joined the Forbes Business Council, an invitation-only organization where top executives and entrepreneurs build professional skills, and gain connections and visibility on Forbes.com.

Lisa will be contributing 12 or more articles annually to Forbes.com.

Fredy Wright ’05 and Taylor Griffith wed on Dec. 4, 2021 at Tresca on 8th in Lynchburg, Virginia. The couple lives in Roanoke, Virginia, where Fredy is digital director at Wheeler Digital.

Matthew Kline ’13 and Kimberly Fea wed on Nov. 19, 2021 in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. Alumni in attendance included Corey Lawrence ’13, Ethan Littman ’10, Kevin Tedeschi ’11, Taylor Cazeault ’12, Phillip Gereaux ’12, Christopher Miritello ’11, Forrest Spencer ’13 and Stephen Rubertone ’12. Matthew and Kimberly live in New Jersey, where Matthew, who holds a B.B.A. from Roanoke, is a senior tax ac-

Richards-Sadler wedding

Godsey-Crouch wedding

Heider-Brletich wedding

countant at Ernst and Young.

Claire Heider ’14 and Noah Brletich were married on June 12, 2021 at The Cove at Fawn Lake in Spotsylvania, Virginia. The couple lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where Claire teaches second grade in the Stafford County Public Schools system. She and her husband enjoy spending time with Millie, their 1-year-old Golden retriever pup.

Hannah Godsey ’15 and Brad Crouch married on Dec. 18, 2021 at the Taubman Museum in Roanoke, Virginia. Alumni in attendance included Kyra Sichelstiel ’15, Anna (Lewis) Thompson ’15 and Shaina Azulay-Lidd ’15.

Clair Harkey ’18 and Evan Brown ’19 married on Feb. 4, 2022 at the Manor House in Littleton, Colorado. Twenty-three Roanoke College alumni were in attendance. The couple live in Denver, where Clair is an IT account executive for Technology Integration Group, and Evan is an analyst for WTW (Willis Towers Watson), a multinational risk management, insurance brokerage and advisory company.

Lindsey Nanz ’18 married Sandra Bryan on July 17, 2021, at Explore Park in Roanoke, Virginia. Lindsey is the daughter of Roy and Sharon Nanz ’09 . Several other Roanoke alumni were in attendance, including brother Jason Nanz ’06,

Samantha Griess ’19 and Chelsea Schafer ’18. Lindsey, who holds a B.S. in biology from Roanoke, is pursuing a M.S. in genetic counseling from Boise State University.

Matthew Puryear ’18 and Alexandra Wolfe ’20 wed on June 27, 2020 in Roanoke, Virginia. A number of Roanoke alumni and current students were in attendance.

families Garrett H. Cosenza ‘06 and wife Corey, welcomed the arrival of daughter Miya Sachi Cosenza on May 26, 2021.

Garrett, the assistant winemaker at Tamber Bey Vineyards, and family reside in Napa, California. The happy grandparents are John and Patricia (Kiser) Cosenza ’73.

Christopher Berenotto ’09 and Kimberly (Hughes) Berenotto ’09 welcomed their first child, Alexandria Berenotto, on June 22, 2021. Alexandria made her first trip to Roanoke College in October. The family lives in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania.

Jonathan Herttua ’09 and wife Jennifer (Shanholtzer) Herttua ’09, welcomed son Jonathan Alan Herttua III on Sept. 15, 2021. The family lives in Simsbury, Connecticut.

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alumninews

Temple Dodson Harris

Alexandria Berenotto

Elizabeth Watson Irvin

Miya Sachi Cosenza

Rory James Boylan

Megan (Semmelman) Irvin ’11 and husband Taylor, happily welcomed daughter Elizabeth “Ella” Watson Irvin on Dec. 14, 2021. The family lives in Richmond, Virginia, where Megan is account director at The Hodges Partnership.

Chris Boylan ’12 and wife Mary, welcomed the arrival of son Rory James Boylan on July 24, 2021. The family lives in Roanoke, Virginia.

Laura (Dodson) Harris ’13 and husband Mark, welcomed daughter Temple Dodson Harris, on April 23, 2021.

The family lives in Roanoke, Virginia.

Grandfather is Earl Dodson ’77.

in memoriam Emory C. Crowder Jr. ’43, of Westlake, Ohio, died on Oct. 18, 2021. Crowder, who played football for Roanoke College, served in the Navy during World War II and was trained as a hospital corpsman to serve with the Marines in combat. For his service, he received a Purple Heart and the Silver Star. Crowder worked for N&W Railroad (now Norfolk Southern) for more than 40 years, retiring as assistant to the general manager in 1983. Crowder also,

It isn’t often we can include combined Marriages/Families/Class Notes news in a single Alumni News write-up. But such is the case with B. Reid Hall ’13 and Elizabeth Ciskowski ’14, who tied the knot on Oct. 10, 2020, at a friend’s home on Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay, with Dr. Matthew Fleenor, Roanoke College physics professor, officiating. Fast-forward about 15 months: Reid and Elizabeth are now the proud parents of Isaac James Hall, born on Dec. 25, 2021. A career update: Reid is the director of IT and physics instructor at Broadwater Academy in Exmore, Virginia. Elizabeth is program coordinator and educational support at NASA Wallops Flight Facility Visitor Center in Wallops Island, Virginia. Both graduated from Roanoke with bachelor of science degrees in physics. The family lives in Wachapreague, Virginia.

for than more 40 years, served as the unofficial community patriarch in his neighborhood, leading the children’s Fourth of July bicycle parade every year.

Betty Jean Winford ’47, of Salem, Virginia, passed away on Dec. 1, 2021.

Mary (Gardner) Mann ’48, of Salem, Virginia, died on Feb. 4, 2022. Mann served as captain of the women’s basketball team during her years at Roanoke, where she met her husband, Wilbur E. Mann Jr. ’48. Mary Mann’s professional career included working as a case manager at The Arc and Center for Human Develop-

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ment in Salem. she also taught at Shawsville High School. Family who preceded Mann in death included husband Wilbur.

Marilyn E. O’Brien ’49 died on July 23, 2021 in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. An accomplished seamstress, O’Brien volunteered her time to the church of which she and her husband Richie were members, and to their children’s schools.

Jacqueline (Fisher) Bond ’50, of Danville, Virginia, passed away on Jan. 17, 2022. After earning a bachelor’s degree in biology from Roanoke, Bond earned Med-

Richard Sears Jr. ’65, “shared an enchanted Christmas” 2021 with grandchildren, writes his wife, Judy who shared this photo.

Gathered around their grandfather are Caden (top), Wade and Trent (second row, left and right), and Knox and Greer (bottom row, left and right. Richard and Judy reside in Littleton, Colorado.

ical Technologist certification at the University of Virginia. She was accepted to UVA School of Medicine but chose to go with her husband Dr. Lester Ray Bond ’51 to Ohio State for his residency. Family members who preceded Jacqueline Bond in death include husband Lester.

Gene E. Clapsaddle ’50 passed away on Aug. 25, 2021 in Vinton, Virginia.

James T. Lucas Jr. ’50, of Radford, Virginia, died on Jan. 8, 2022. A retired colonel in the U.S. Air Force, Lucas served in World War II and the Korean War. He held 11 military service awards, including

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College’s first chaplain dies at age 94 T

he Rev. Dr. John David “Pat” Keister ’50, who served in a variety of roles at Roanoke College over the years, died at his Strasburg, Virginia, home on Nov. 24, 2021.

Keister was born on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1927, which led to his nickname of “Pat.” Keister graduated from Roanoke College with a B.A. in English, taking a brief break from life as a student to serve in the U.S. Navy during World War II. According to his obituary, Keister entered Roanoke hoping to graduate and become the editor of the Northern Virginia Daily, which his father founded. But during his senior year at Roanoke, Keister found that his calling was to be a Lutheran pastor.

Keister earned both a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Prior to his chaplaincy at Roanoke College, Keister served as pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Virginia Beach from 1954-1963.

Keister served as Roanoke College’s first chaplain from 19631979. During his time as chaplain, he served in many roles including: instructor of religion, director of special events, registrar and dean of the Summer Session of the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary Graduate School at Roanoke College, and superintendent of the Summer Assembly of the Virginia Synod.

Keister even found ways to use his English degree and writing skills as he developed grant proposals for the College.

He married Hilda Dorothea “Dee” Laven in 1953. The two of them have three children, four grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren. The couple also wrote a lifestyle book together titled “Food, Fuel and Future.”

Rev. Paul Henrickson, the College’s former Timothy L. Pickle Jr. and Timothy L. Pickle III Dean of the Chapel, said Keister was wise and well-rounded. He was extremely well-read on a number of topics. Henrickson recalled a conversation with Keister in 1978 where Keister spoke about the coming climate crisis and quoted French philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin as part of his argument.

the Meritorious Service Medal. In addition to his degree from Roanoke, Lucas held graduate degrees from Virginia Tech, where he taught economics for 33 years before retiring in 1988 as professor of economics. Prior to his service at Virginia Tech, he was employed by Hercules Inc. of Wilmington, Delaware as a sales correspondent and by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as a sales representative.

Lucas was a member of numerous military, civic and academic organizations, including the Military Order of the World Wars, the Christiansburg-Blacksburg Rotary Club and the Alpha Kappa Psi Business Fraternity.

Glenn D. Street ’50, of Harrisonburg, Virginia, passed away on Nov. 9, 2021.

Street served in the U.S. Army during World War II. For most of his life, he was active with the boy Scouts of America and as a member of the College Lutheran Church Choir in Salem.

Randall H. Taylor ’50, of Hilton Head, South Carolina, died on Dec. 29, 2021.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in economics from Roanoke, Taylor joined the U.S. Marine Corps, completing Officer Candidates School and serving during the Korean War. He was discharged from active duty in 1954 with the rank of major.

He earned an M.B.A. from New York University while working at General Foods Corporation in Hoboken, New Jersey. After 12 years there, he accepted a position at Squibb in Manhattan, where he worked for

The Rev. “Pat” Keister with his family in this photo from the Roanoke College archives.

“Pat was a Renaissance man,” Henrickson said. “He was a writer who loved the simple life of farming, small town-living and salt-of-the-earth people.”

Roanoke College President Michael C. Maxey said that in his visits and interactions with Keister, it was clear how much Keister cared about the state of the College and the chaplaincy.

“He continued his great interest in the College for the rest of his life,” Maxey said. “He had a grandson who attended here, and he was so proud of that, that the Keister legacy continued.”

Keister’s surviving family members include wife Hilda (Laven) Keister ’79, son David W. Keister ’80, daughter Carolyn (Keister) Baker ’83, and grandsons Justin A. Johnson ’09 and James I. Baker ’18. Family members who preceded Rev. Keister in death included brother William E. Keister ’45 and niece Katharine L. O’Brien ’84.

25 years. In retirement, Taylor enjoyed traveling, and playing tennis, billiards and competitive croquet.

Barbara A. Braithwaite ’51, of Dallas, Texas, died on Dec. 4, 2021. After attending Roanoke and eventually receiving a B.A. from Mary Washington College, Braithwaite taught English and physical education and owned a dance studio, later earning an M.F.A. in dance. She studied dance with influential greats, including Martha Graham, and later taught modern dance and fencing at Wheaton College.

Kay (Dominy) Sisler ’51, of Daleville, Virginia, died on Oct. 13, 2021. After graduating from Roanoke with a degree in English, Sisler worked as an administrative secretary to the Presbyterian Church

(U.S.A.) and several Presbyterian churches in Roanoke and Richmond, Virginia.

Margaret (Kidd) Copenhaver ’53, of Daleville, Virginia, died on Dec. 11, 2021.

Copenhaver’s career began at the former First National Exchange Bank. She was a tutor at The Shedd School and later, assistant director of St. Anne’s Episcopal Day School. Surviving family members include husband, the Rev. Dr. Robert Copenhaver ‘54, and son, Capt. Thomas Copenhaver ’85.

Janice (Sumpter) Humphreys ’54, of Roanoke, Virginia, died on Dec. 17, 2021. After graduating from Roanoke,

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Tribute to a hero M

embers of the Roanoke College and Salem communities gathered on campus the afternoon of Oct. 26, 2021, as a motorcade returned the body of Naval Air Crewman 2nd Class James “Jimmy” P. Buriak ’12 to Salem, Virginia.

Buriak died on Aug. 31, 2021, in the crash of an MH-60S U.S. Navy helicopter embarked on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. The helicopter crashed into the sea while conducting routine flight operations off the coast of San Diego, where Buriak served as a Naval aircrewman rescue swimmer (AWS) with HSC-8.

Buriak was born on May 9, 1990, in Salem. He graduated from Salem High School, then Roanoke College with a degree in sports management, and joined the Navy in 2017. He spent time training in San Diego and Pensacola before being assigned to HSC-8 in Coronado, California. He deployed aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt for two back-to-back tours and multiple detachments before departing for the USS Abraham Lincoln.

Buriak was described as an “uncommon man,” a man who held qualities that could not be given but rather earned, a man who was an exemplary father, husband, son and brother.

Buriak received the Navy Commendation Medal for a heroic,

Buriak was described as an “uncommon man,” a man who held qualities that could not be given but rather earned, a man who was an exemplary father, husband, son and brother.

Humphreys married and taught briefly at Cave Spring High School. She was a lifelong member of Calvary Baptist Church, serving for more than 30 years as church organist and assistant choir director.

She enjoyed teaching piano, singing with and accompanying the Thursday Morning Music Club, and serving on the board of the American Guild of Organists.

Jean (Robertson) Kendall ’54, of Winona, Minnesota, passed away on Nov. 20, 2021. After graduating from Roanoke with a B.A. in education, Kendall taught elementary school for nearly a decade.

Later, she and her husband co-owned a travel agency in New Jersey, enthusiastically visiting all 50 states and 32 countries. Kendall also served as director of the Winona Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.

Capt. Cleve E. Loman Jr., USN ’55 died on July 17, 2021. Loman attended Roanoke College, and the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and Virginia Tech while serving in the U.S. Naval Reserve, before attending the Naval Academy, from which he graduated in 1957.

Loman served in the U.S. Navy from 1959 to 1984, retiring as commanding officer of U.S. Naval Communications Station Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico.

Lowell Tinsely ’55, of Clearwater, Florida, passed away on Sept. 24, 2021.

After graduating from Roanoke, Tinsley worked as a system analyst at Appalachian Power, continuing his career in computer sciences at Burroughs, Unisys and United Health Group. He was a founding member of Clearwater for Youth, a nonprofit with a mission to ensure that all children have access to youth sports.

Correnia (Henderson) Summers ’56, died on Nov. 2, 2021. Summers taught school in Roanoke County and Norfolk, Virginia. She also taught piano lessons for many years and was a member of the American Guild of Organists. She sang in the Roanoke Valley Chorus, the Virginia Choral Society, the Bach Chorale and the Thursday Morning Music Club Chorus.

Surviving family members include son Timothy Summers ’84. Family members who preceded her in death include daugh-

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off-duty rescue in 2020 of a man caught in a rip current on Gun Beach in Guam. Buriak said then that he had trained for all types of recoveries and put his training to the test during this rescue.

He quickly leaped into action and was able to pull the man from the current and get him to shore, difficult in part because of the man’s exhaustion and the coral reefs that surround the island.

Buriak is survived by his wife, Megan; son, Caulder Philip; parents James — who retired in 2021 as athletic trainer and associate professor of health and human performance — and Carol Buriak; and his sister, Laura, and brother-in-law, Eric Zickefoose.

Buriak’s family and friends have established The AWS1 James Buriak Scholarship, an endowed student scholarship, in his memory at Roanoke College. Should you wish to contribute, please contact Steve Esworthy ’91, Director of Development, at (540) 375-2028 or at esworthy@roanoke.edu.

ter Ann E. Summers ’87.

Robert O. Ragland ’57, of Roanoke, Virginia, passed away on Dec. 12, 2021.

Ragland, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, was a retired employee of Appalachian Power Company. He was best known for his dedication to coaching youth in football, basketball and baseball. Over 44 years, his teams had a winning record of 900-445-18 and many league championships. In 2014, Roanoke County dedicated the Bobby Ragland Field at Walrond Park football field. He also was honored as a member of the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame. “I’ve always said I’ve had a blessed life, because I’ve been able to play ball and coach, be on the field or in the gym for a big part of my life and still maintain a home life,” he told The Roanoke Times in 2014.

Anna (Kennamer) Barnett ’59 passed away on Sept. 24, 2021. Barnett taught in the English department of Bryn Mawr College, during which time she was awarded a Fulbright to Rome. She later taught English at Rutgers University. There,

she published 10 books on literature and American history. Her book “Touched By Fire: The Life, Death and Mythic Afterlife of George Armstrong Custer,” won the John Carroll Literary Award and was nominated by the book’s publisher for a Pulitzer. Barnett’s survivors include husband, Robert Barnett ’58, whom she met at Roanoke and later married.

Alvin L. Carter ’59, of Lexington, Virginia, died on Oct. 12, 2021. After graduating from Roanoke, Carter served in the National Guard for five years, later opening a clothing store, Alvin-Dennis, Inc., a fine men’s and women’s clothing store serving the students of Washington and Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute.

In 2014, Carter received the Business Individual of the Year Award from the Lexington Chamber of Commerce.

Ralph Craig ’59, of Roanoke, Virginia, passed away on July 28. After serving in the U.S. Air Force, Craig subsequently attended Roanoke, eventually graduating from Virginia Tech with a B.S. in mechanical engineering. He worked in a variety of

engineering and management positions before retiring. He was active in volunteer and civic organizations, including Habitat for Humanity and the Roanoke Civitan Club.

Emily L. Dangler ’59, of Unionville, Virginia, died Sept. 29, 2021. After graduating from Roanoke, Dangler earned a nursing degree from the Medical College of Virginia.

William R. Jordan ’59, of Troutville, Virginia, passed away on Aug. 4, 2021.

A U.S. Army veteran, Jordan earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Roanoke, where he excelled in tennis and served as team captain. He was employed at Shenandoah Life Insurance Company for 28 years.

Charles M. Lewis ’59, of Bluffton, South Carolina, passed away on Sept. 25, 2021.

Marie (Harter) Stephens ’60, of Atlanta, Georgia, died on Jan. 22, 2022.

After graduating from Roanoke with a B.A.

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in elementary education and psychology, Stephens taught English at Cave Spring High School. She married, and moved to Atlanta, where she and her husband made their home and raised four children.

George S. Shields Jr. ’61, of Davidsonville, Maryland, died on Dec. 11, 2021.

Shields was the founder and owner of two wholesale optical labs, B&W Optical of Baltimore, Maryland, and Southeastern Optical, Inc. of Roanoke. Shields also was a veteran of the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps.

Gene G. Davidson ’63, M.D., of Rome, Georgia, passed away on Oct. 21, 2021.

After graduating from Roanoke, Davidson earned an M.D. from the Medical College of Virginia. After residency at Chelsea Naval Hospital in Massachusetts, he eventually received a Certificate of Residency from the U.S. Navy for his

service as a Lieutenant Commander, Medical Corps in the U.S. Naval Reserve Internal Medicine during the Vietnam War. Davidson later practiced medicine and surgery in Georgia until his retirement in the early 2000s. He was recognized as Teacher of the Year by the Physician Assistant Program at Emory University School of Medicine, was a founding director of Greater Rome Bank, and served on the board of the American National Diabetes Association.

Frederick H. Beals III ’64, of Sarasota, Florida, died on Aug. 20, 2021. Beals, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps, was owner of Fox Chase Realty and Fox Chase Homes.

James E. Horner ’64, of Roanoke, Virginia, died on Nov. 28, 2021. Horner was a junior high school teacher for many years, later teaching English at National Business College in Roanoke. He also owned and operated a photography business, and enjoyed playing the saxophone and clarinet in community bands in the Roanoke area.

Freda (Crosswhite) Fry ’65, of Salem, Virginia, passed away on Nov. 3, 2021. Fry made her career as a teacher and a singer. For more than 40 years, she taught French and Spanish at junior high and high schools in the Roanoke Valley, and at Roanoke College. She recorded and released eight solo albums, and wrote and narrated a children’s book.

Thomas A. Mercaldo ’66, of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, died on Oct. 30, 2021. After working for many years for the family business, Mecco Construction Company, Mercaldo worked in the construction division of Continental Bank. He finished his career as an independent contractor specializing in bank security installations.

Mercaldo was a member of Sigma Chi International Fraternity. Surviving family members include his wife of 55 years, Chris Mercaldo ’68.

Max Mittendorff ’66, of East Sandwich, Massachusetts, passed away on Dec. 20, 2021. Mittendorff, who held an

F A C U L T Y — E M E R I T U S

Roanoke remembers associate professor D

r. John Mack Welford, who retired from Roanoke College in 2002 after 32 years of service, died on Sept. 27, 2021.

Welford, associate professor of education, emeritus, held several positions at the College, including faculty sponsor for the Student Education Association; counselor for the College’s chapter of Kappa Delta Pi; leader of the education department’s education program review for the Virginia Department of Education; and the College’s coordinator of student teaching. He served for several years as the education program chair.

Welford was 81.

Tributes to Welford were shared by several of his former students: “I had a class taught by Mack Welford…and that class made a long-lasting impression on me,” Stuart Arsht ’80, of Coral Springs, Florida, wrote in an email. “He was my most favorite professor,” wrote Sylvia (Pulliam) Lackey ’73, of Staunton, Virginia.

Outside of campus, Welford was involved with his church and giving back to the Roanoke Valley community. He was named Roanoke Valley Father of the Year for Education in 1990 by the Credit Marketing and Management Association.

Welford often spoke in the community about grief and loss, and taught a course called “perspectives of death and dying”.

In 1998, the Roanoke College Dean’s Council recognized Welford with the Exemplary Service Award. At the time, his department chair noted how Welford touched “a lot of lives through the volunteer work” he did.

The Mack Welford Award was established in his honor to recognize an education student with a minimum GPA of 2.5 and ample service to the community.

Welford received a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Alabama, and a master’s in science education and doctorate in curriculum and instruction from the University of Virginia.

Welford “was serious about his duties as a son, brother, husband, and father but he was known by his friends as charismatic, loyal, and a prankster,” his obituary noted. “People were drawn to his humor, wit, and sarcasm.”

Dr. Welford’s family has established The Dr. John Mack Welford Teacher Education Endowed Scholarship in his memory at Roanoke College. Should you wish to contribute, please contact Steve Esworthy ’91, Director of Development, at (540) 375-2028 or at esworthy@roanoke.edu.

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alumninews M.B.A. from the University of New Haven, worked for 26 years in finance at General Electric. In retirement, he taught accounting. Surviving family members include wife Pamela (Glover) Mittendorff ’66.

Geranne (Schwarzenbach) Schulz ’66, of New Bern, North Carolina, died on Jan. 8, 2022. After graduating from Roanoke, Schulz began a lifelong career as an elementary school teacher. Much of her three-year teaching career was spent at Wyandanch Elementary School in New York. Her community service included work as a guardian ad litem, providing services to children and their families in the court system. She also volunteered her time with Religious Community Services, serving meals to those in need. In retirement, she and her husband of 53 years enjoyed traveling the world.

Nancy (Gearhart) Scheie ’67, of Roanoke, Virginia, died on Sept. 24, 2021.

Scheie loved fashion and sewing, and was always “dressed to impress,” according to her obituary. She also loved classical music and was a huge fan of the Chicago Cubs and the Tottenham Hotspur FC in England.

Edward L. Corson II ’68, of Roanoke, Virginia, died in December 2021. A member of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity, Corson had a successful career in real estate.

Frederick S. Tate ’69, of West Columbia, South Carolina, died on Dec. 11,

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2021. A graduate of Roanoke and the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Columbia, Tate served for 37 years as a chaplain in the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel before his retirement.

He also worked as a social worker for more than 28 years.

Theriel (Casell) Angle ’70, of Roanoke, Virginia, passed away on Oct. 13, 2021. Angle taught in Botetourt County (Virginia) Schools before retiring.

Larry A. Caligan ’70, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, died on Dec. 4, 2021.

Caligan was a field engineer with Centex Commercial Construction Company for more than 40 years. He was a member of the construction team that erected the Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke, Virginia, and worked in various locations throughout the southeastern United States.

Surviving family members include brother Perry W. Caligan ’63.

Judith (Park) Goins ’70, of Roanoke, Virginia, passed away on March 15, 2021.

Douglas T. Gresham ’70, of Montvale, Virginia, died on Nov. 9, 2021. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Gresham had a varied career in electronics. He also pursued a lifelong desire to pilot a corporate airplane and was an active member of the Marine Corps League and the Blue Ridge Miata Club. Surviving family members include wife Elizabeth (Green) Gresham ’67.

Bill S. Miller ’70, of Baltimore, Mary-

land, died on Oct. 20, 2021. Miller was retired from Honeywell, where he had been employed as a quality assurance analyst.

Ronald E. Spangler ’70, of Roanoke, Virginia, passed away on Dec. 31, 2021.

After graduating from Roanoke College with a bachelor’s degree in business, he earned a master’s degree in labor relations from the University of Lynchburg. He worked for Coca-Cola in the 1970s and 1980s, working his way up to human resources manager. He then held several positions with Lawrence Companies, including president, CEO and board chairman. Spangler’s obituary described him as a “loyal and dedicated father and family man, a competitive, hard-working businessman” and lifelong learner.

Gary Dogan ’71, of Roanoke, Virginia, passed away on Aug. 27, 2021. A lifetime member of the Mount Pleasant Rescue Squad, Dogan was in its first Cardiac Tech/EMT class. He was instrumental in developing the program and served as an EMT instructor for the Mount Pleasant community in Roanoke, serving as captain of the local volunteer rescue crew for many years. Dogan also had a more than 40-year career in the Roanoke Valley real estate community, teaching real estate classes and serving on real estate committees at the local and state levels. His greatest joy was helping first-time buyers find and then purchase their first home.

Thomas R. Brogan ’72, of Daleville, Virginia, died on Sept.

15, 2021. After graduating from Roanoke College with a B.B.A., Brogan earned an M.B.A. from Lynchburg College (now University of Lynchburg). He was a 38-year employee of General Electric, based primarily at the company’s Salem, Virginia plant. Upon retirement, Brogan continued to work at GE as a consultant for the company’s business in Puerto Rico. He also served in the Army National Guard, stationed in Fort Ord, California, before receiving an honorable discharge. Surviving family members include sisters, Linda (Brogan) Wright ’69 and Diane V. Brogan ’77.

Charles W. Boswell ’74, of Roanoke, Virginia, passed away on Jan. 26, 2022.

After a legendary career as a DJ across the Southeast, Bowell earned a degree in theater from Roanoke College. He married, and he, his wife and their two sons settled in Orangeburg, South Carolina, where Boswell turned a radio station into a success and became its owner. He created two more successful stations before retiring in 2003 and returning to Roanoke.

A lover of the arts, Boswell directed and acted in more than 100 plays.

William A. White ’75, of Knoxville,

F A C U L T Y

Former biology professor dies at age 95 D

Dr. Clay Thompson, who introduced many students to the “Cole Mountain Laboratory” to show students what nature has to offer.

r. Jesse Clay Thompson, Jr., professor of biology, emeritus, died on Dec. 25, 2021 at the age of 95.

Thompson taught biology at Hollins College, Hampden-Sydney College and Queens College before settling at Roanoke College in 1969, where he was the biology department chair for many years. Thompson retired from Roanoke College in 1992 after many years of service to Roanoke College.

Thompson was also a World War II veteran, having served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1943 to 1945.

Thompson loved nature and often advocated for the environment, especially for National Forests and other endangered natural resources. He introduced many students

46 ROANOKE COLLEGE MAGAZINE | ISSUE ONE 2022

to the “Cole Mountain Laboratory” to show students all that nature has to offer.

Thompson was recognized and supported by the National Science Foundation, receiving several grants to travel the world and conduct research. He participated in the International Indian Ocean Expedition in 1963 and studied the environmental effects and classifications of microorganisms in Antarctic waters in 1969.

Thompson received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Hampden-Sydney College and a doctorate in biology from the University of Virginia.

Surviving family members include children Warren M. Thompson ’82, John A. Thompson ’79 and Paul S. Thompson ’82.

— Kaylen Ayres ’25

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S T A F F

College remembers former VP and dean A

Dr. Gerald Gibson, on the Roanoke College campus.

President Michael C. Maxey referred to Gibson as “a chemist and a poet in style and substance.”

Tennessee, passed away on Dec. 2, 2021.

White’s career included more than 30 years as a photographer with the National Funeral Directors and Morticians, Inc. Ronald P. Bryant ’78, of Roanoke, Virginia, died on Dec. 21, 2021. After graduating from Roanoke College, Bryant served in the Coast Guard Reserves before joining the Salem District Office of VDOT, where he worked for more than 42 years in the materials lab. He also was an enrolled agent of the Internal Revenue Service, preparing tax returns for A-1 Accounting & Tax Services and his own clientele. An outdoorsman, he enjoyed trail hiking and was a member of the Appalachian Trail Club for more than 35 years.

Maurice S. Fisher Sr. ’78, Ph.D., of Roanoke, Virginia, died on Oct. 19, 2021.

Fisher worked as a therapist and devoted time to a free clinic once a week. According to his obituary, Fisher was a “proud clinical social worker who dedicated his life to helping people in their weakest moments.” Fisher, a member of Catawba Masonic Lodge No. 342, Scottish Rite and Kazim Shriners of Roanoke, wrote many essays for The Roanoke Times.

David N. Draper ’82, of Roanoke, Virginia, passed away on Jan. 23, 2022.

Draper began his career with Roanoke Gas Company, moving to AT&T before retiring in 2017.

Stephanie (Lambert) Gemmell ’85, of Richmond, Virginia, died on Aug. 21, 2021. After graduating from Roanoke, Gemmell moved to the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area, where she

fter a lifetime of service to higher education, Dr. Gerald W. Gibson died May 20, 2021, following an extended illness. He was 83.

Gibson served as the vice president and dean at Roanoke College from 1984-1993.

From 1993-2010, he served as the 10th president of Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee.

Roanoke College President Michael C. Maxey said Gibson’s contributions to the College were important.

“He was a visionary who knew how planning and documenting progress could improve Roanoke and its experiences for students,” Maxey said. “Gerald was a chemist and a poet in style and substance. I appreciate his life and accomplished career.”

Gibson was born in Saluda County, South Carolina, and grew up in Spartanburg. He studied chemistry and earned degrees at Wofford College (B.S.) and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (Ph.D.), and served as a member of the U.S. Army Chemical Corps prior to joining the faculty at the College of Charleston in 1965.

Gibson served as chair of the chemistry department at the College of Charleston from 1968 until 1982, when he was named associate provost for academic affairs.

enjoyed a successful career at Bryn Mawr Trust before fully devoting herself to family life. She was a passionate volunteer, serving those who experienced homelessness and devoting her time and talent to the development and nurturing of children.

Donna (Eckels) Gautier ’86, of Salem, Virginia, died on Oct. 18, 2021.

Gautier had a long career in nursing and leadership, retiring from Lewis-Gale Medical Center in Salem.

Mary N. Hoback ’87 died on Jan. 21, 2022. After graduating from Roanoke, Hoback had a varied career that included work in banking, culinary arts, catering, as owner of her own deli restaurant and finally, as a document specialist at Wells Fargo.

Michael P. Phillips ’89, of Roanoke, Virginia, passed away on Oct. 4, 2021.

After graduating from Roanoke College with a B.B.A, Phillips earned an M.B.A. from East Carolina University. He worked for several years in industrial management before joining Volvo North America, first in Dublin, Virginia, and later in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he served as director of manufacturing engineering for 11 years.

Christopher B. Bower ’90, of Salem, Virginia, passed away on Aug. 27, 2021. A lifelong Salem resident, Bower ran Motorcars Unlimited Sales and Service, LLC. John Michael Hall ’93, of Clifton Forge, Virginia, died on July 25, 2021. After graduating from Roanoke with a B.S. in physics, Hall earned an M.S. in computer science and physics. He was an accomplished and published physicist, receiving an accommodation from Lt. Gen. Henry Obering III (USAF), director of the Missile

Defense Agency. Hall continued to work in missile defense for the U.S. government and taught physics at ECPI. Carrie Ann Kiewitt ’93, of Annapolis, Maryland, passed away on Oct. 1, 2021.

Kiewitt, who held a B.A. in history from Roanoke and an M.A. in history from the University of Richmond, was senior vice president of membership, communications and engagement at Historic Annapolis, an organization that has been instrumental in saving or protecting historic buildings in the heart of the city. Kiewitt’s leadership was recognized with the Four Rivers Heritage Area’s Heritage Profession of the Year Award in 2020. She also was a Smithsonian Associate Member, and a member of Chi Omega sorority and several professional and historic organizations. “Carrie was most respected by her Historic Annapolis family for her selflessness, always going above and beyond, and her kindness towards all her colleagues.,” the organization posted on its website. “Carrie’s contributions and her legacy of professionalism and compassion will live on at Historic Annapolis.”

David L. Myers ’95, of Roanoke, Virginia, died on Nov. 13, 2021. Myers was employed at Advance Auto Parts Corporate Headquarters and at Carilion Clinic before his retirement. He also achieved the Distinguished Toastmaster award.

Thomas Lynn Neal ’00, of Falling Spring, Virginia, passed away on Aug. 12, 2021. Neal served in the U.S. Army, was an officer the Army Reserves, and was retired from MeadWestvaco. Neal, a novelist

who loved playing music and painting, was an avid outdoorsman.

Robert “Chad” Martin ’05, of Salem, Virginia, passed away on Nov. 26, 2021.

Martin, who held a B.A. in English language and literature/ letters from Roanoke, was employed for 10 years at The Roanoke Times before moving to Charlotte, North Carolina, where he worked for 11 years at the Charlotte Observer. Martin enjoyed volunteering, eventplanning and traveling, particularly to big cities and destinations near the ocean.

Surviving family members include sister Terri (Martin) Fox, ’90, chief information officer at Roanoke College.

Ebben J. Yazel ’07, of Colonial Beach, Virginia, died on Oct. 23, 2021. Yazel, who held a B.B.A. from Roanoke, was employed for 10 years as accounts manager at Carahsoft, a Reston-Virginia-based business that sells IT hardware, software and consulting services to federal, state and local governments, and educational institutions. RC

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alumninews ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NEWS

ALUMNI WEEKEND 2022

Back in Stride PHOTOS BY GRIFFIN PIVARUNAS ’16

A shower of confetti at the Alumni Weekend Finale Party, hosted by the Class of 1972 and featuring The Rhythm Shop band.

Class of 1972 alumni gather for a group photo with President Maxey at the Golden Reunion, held at the President’s House.

48 ROANOKE COLLEGE MAGAZINE | ISSUE ONE 2022

Vice President for Community, Diversity & Inclusion Teresa Ramey, third from the left, with attendees at the Community, Diversity & Inclusion Open House.

A Letter to the President n behalf of the Roanoke College Alumni Association, we thank you for the tremendous support you have provided to our growing body of over 16,000 living alumni.

As the College’s 11th president, you supported beautification, restoration and new construction changes to the campus that make alumni proud and amazed upon our return to Salem.

Alumni benefitted from a more enriched academic curriculum with seven additional academic majors and four new centers that have been established for arts, community health, economic freedom and studying structures of race. Alumni developed real-world life skills through experiential learning.

Lastly, Roanoke College’s recognition as a top producer of academic scholars, including Fulbright, Gilman, Goldwater, and Truman awardees, means alumni are proud of their degree and confident in their own future.

You provided the opportunity to thousands of us to “leave our mark” as seniors in the days before commencement. And now as alumni, we have more ways to support the College as Maroon Mentors, Roanoke Recruit Ambassadors, volunteer leaders and donors.

We have grown in our association as alumni with more chapters, to include the Multicultural Alumni Chapter. We are particularly proud of the work your administration has facilitated to help support and connect students and alumni, as well as foster a community of belonging for both students and alumni.

The future remains bright for Roanoke. The power of a Roanoke College education is the result of your persistent, creative and forward-thinking vision, those who have walked alongside you, and those who will carry your tremendous efforts forward.

We wish you and Terri a fruitful and restful retirement.

Please know, you have served us well.

O

At the Rite of Remembrance, a gathering to give thanks for alumni who have died during the past year.

Virginia State Del. Sam Rasoul ’02, storytelling at the Third Annual NOKE Hour.

Jim Buriak, who retired as the athletic training program director in 2021, with President Maxey at a ceremony dedicating the College’s Athletic Training clinic as The James Buriak Athletic Training Clinic.

Left to right, William Pratt ’18, Hannah Curtis ’15 and Dr. Tyler Barnes ’14 speak at a panel discussion held during the open house for PLACE, the new center for Purpose, Life and Career Exploration, housed in the Fowler House.

Joe Carpenter ’99, President, Alumni Association Rick Oglesbee ’95 (Alumni Association president, 2010-2016) Pam Cabalka ’76 (Alumni Association president, 2007-2010)

The president and first lady embrace during a moving tribute held at President’s Evening on April 28.

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MAROON MUSINGS

“Would you like a tour of my office?”

Ah, what one collects over nearly 40 years at an institution of higher learning, 15 of them as head of said institution. The photos, the letters, the books, the artifacts, the tchotchkes, the keepsakes. The objects too cherished and too historically significant to toss. The office of President Michael C. Maxey — which offers a veritable “tour” of Roanoke College’s past, present and future — is no exception. “It’s good to have little touchstones that pull you back to where you ought to focus in the business of life,” Maxey says.

“My boys,” from left to right, Michael, Stuart and Jack.

“Given to me by [former men’s basketball] Coach Page Moir for my inauguration.”

Three Michael C. Maxeys: father, son and grandson.

A stack of Roanoke College memorabilia, including a copy of “Cerobiblos 1948-49,” given to President Maxey by the Donald M. Sutton family upon the announcement of Maxey’s retirement. Items underneath include: old Admissions brochures from the 1950s and a copy of “Portrait of the Educated Person,” the title of the commencement address given by Dr. Charles Smith, fifth president of Roanoke College.

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“A rock that alumnus John Stafford ’57 gave me at an alumni reception in Abingdon [Virginia]. It probably weighs 50 pounds.”

“The Place that Proudly Bore Us,” a poem written by Dr. Melanie Almeder, John P. Fishwick Professor of English, for the Oct. 26, 2007 inauguration of President Maxey. “And ‘when that winter of life does pass before us,’ snow making our days into a white hush, may the quiet recall of mother who said do your best, and might book fallen open recall this place, the knowledge that was made, that asked what it meant to be human, to be something like holy.” “Kind of a tape-recording my mom instilled in my head,” Maxey said.

“My brother and sisters and I talk about that all the time.

‘Do your best. That’s all you can do,’ she’d tell us.”

An 1873 Admissions brochure that a friend of Maxey’s from Wake Forest University (Maxey’s alma mater) found in a house he was restoring in Winchester, Virginia.

“He actually found two copies, one I kept, the other I gave to Archives.

[In the 1870s,] Winchester had a special connection to the College, with a bastion of Roanoke College people in the Winchester area, where many Lutherans lived.”

Hard hat from the capital campaign in the late 1980s that led to the overhaul and expansion of the College library, renamed Fintel Library after eighth president Dr. Norman Fintel and his wife, Jo. “This was the first major fundraising campaign I worked on, long before this job,” says Maxey, who at the time was serving as the College’s director of capital resources.

“Upon High Ground,” a 1905 painting by popular illustrator and accomplished fine art painter Walter Biggs. Biggs was once an artist-in-residence at Roanoke College, which owns the largest collection of his art.

Model of the new Science Center, created by the Albany, New York-based EYP Architecture & Engineering. “I keep it on my desk as a reminder of the priority of that project,” Maxey says.

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ROANOTES Think you know a lot about Roanoke College? Chances are you do. But here is a fact that even those most thoroughly versed in all things Maroons might not know.

262*

Number of bow ties owned by President Michael C. Maxey * As of March 22, 2022

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Ask President Michael C. Maxey how many bow ties he owns, and he will, with a smile, direct you to the Information Desk in the Colket Center.

Yup, the Information Desk, where a student will glance up at a sticky note posted just to the right of a computer and provide the most current count.

The question comes up frequently about the president’s trademark fashion statement, one that has inspired a “how to tie a bow tie” tradition and an instructional bow-tying blogpost — and has good-naturedly morphed into a symbol that is distinctly “Maxey.”

President Maxey’s bow ties, shown in a photo taken in December 2020.

he Logan family name has been a steadfast Roanoke College legacy dating back to 1877, just 35 years after Roanoke first opened its hallowed halls. For the Hon. William Henry Logan Jr. ’69, the continuance of his family’s legacy at Roanoke was fostered by the positive experience his father, William Henry Logan, Sr. ’29, had while attending the College.

Not only did Logan and his father attend Roanoke, but also his grandfather George Kried Logan (Class of 1901) and his great-grandfather William Worth Logan (Class of 1877). To complete five generations of the Logan legacy, Logan’s son, Daniel Logan, who also studied law, graduated from Roanoke in 2009.

Logan, who majored in political science, said what stands out to him about Roanoke is its high academic standard and the opportunities to participate in a variety of student organizations. For Logan, that was membership in Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity and Young Republicans, and as a student-athlete on the track and field team.

A remarkable memory was winning and continuing to hold the Mason-Dixon Conference Track Invitational’s 440-yard relay record in 1969 with a time of 42.6 seconds. Fortuitously, the record will last forever, as it was the last time that relay distance would be run; the following year, the relay was changed to 400 meters.

The relay team included Logan, Ian Williams ’69, Mike Sullivan ’69 and Bill Bogart ’69.

“I think back on running track and being part of Roanoke in general, and those were some of the best times of my life,” said Logan. “I felt like I belonged, which was the benefit of attending a small school.

Those friendships were rich, and I continued them years after graduating.”

After graduating from Roanoke, Logan was enrolled to attend T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond in 1969. But just before the start of the program, Logan was drafted into the Army at the start of American involvement in the Vietnam War. Following his military service, Logan returned to T.C. Williams, graduating with a Juris Doctor degree in 1973.

Throughout Logan’s prolific 44-year law career, including serving as chief prosecutor for Shenandoah County, Virginia, on four separate occasions and his election in 1999 as a district judge for the 26th Judicial District’s Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court in Virginia, Logan always remembered the impact Roanoke had on him.

Because of Roanoke’s influence, Logan, who retired from his judgeship in 2017, established The Logan Family Endowed Scholarship, providing financial assistance for rural Virginia students who have intentions of returning to their hometowns to support the needs of their communities after graduating from Roanoke.

“If all of the talent leaves the rural area and goes to cities, those areas will eventually lack the support they desperately need,” said Logan. “The need for good professions is not exclusive to cities, so it is my hope that this scholarship will encourage Roanoke graduates to return home to be of service.”

RICH COOLEY/NORTHERN VIRGINIA DAILY

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Judge William H. Logan Jr. in a portrait from the Northern Virginia Daily newspaper shortly before he retired from the bench in Shenandoah County (Va.) Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.

THE IMPACT OF

Family Legacy Logan with sons and daughterin-law, left to right, Geo, Daniel ’09, Chad and Chad’s wife, Rachel.

William Logan Jr. with track and field teammat es at Roanoke.

(Logan is kneeling, thir d from the left.)

A Roanoke College yearbook photo of William Logan Jr.

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